Ninth Circuit Grants Stay, Letting Trump Retain Command of California Guard Pending Appeal
On June 19, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco granted the federal government's motion and stayed the district court's temporary restraining order pending appeal, leaving the Trump administration in command of the California National Guard for the time being. The 38-page per curiam order, in Case No. 25-3727, was issued by a panel of Judges Mark J. Bennett, Eric D. Miller, and Jennifer Sung; the troops affected were serving in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California.
The panel said the government had made the required strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal. It rejected the government's primary argument that the President's decision to federalize the Guard under 10 U.S.C. § 12406 is completely insulated from judicial review, but held that, under longstanding precedent interpreting the statute's predecessor, judicial review of such a decision must be highly deferential to the President.
Affording that deference, the panel concluded that the President likely lawfully exercised his authority under § 12406(3), which authorizes federalization when "the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States." It also concluded that the Secretary of Defense's transmittal of the order to the Adjutant General of the California National Guard likely satisfied the statute's requirement that federalization orders be issued "through" the Governor, because California law authorizes the Adjutant General to "issue all orders in the name of the Governor." Even if there had been a procedural violation, the panel said, it would not justify the scope of relief in the district court's order.
The panel held that this conclusion also resolved California's Tenth Amendment claim, and that the remaining stay factors, including irreparable harm to the government, injury to California, and the public interest, weighed in the government's favor. The panel had heard oral argument on June 17; it had already issued an administrative stay on the night of June 12, hours after the district court granted the restraining order.
The order is an interim measure for the duration of the appeal, not a final judgment on the merits, and the appeal will continue. While the stay remains in effect, the 4,000 federalized California National Guard members remain in Los Angeles, protecting federal personnel and federal property.
Related: Federal Judge Rules Trump Takeover of California Guard Illegal, Orders Control Returned to Governor
Related: California Sues Trump and Hegseth Challenging National Guard Federalization Order
(Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 San Francisco 的 James R. Browning 美国上诉法院大楼，联邦第九巡回上诉法院所在地。CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The James R. Browning U.S. Court of Appeals Building in San Francisco, home of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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