In a whiplash moment, a late-night order by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Thursday night allowed President Donald Trump to continue federalizing the California National Guard by pausing U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer’s ruling that it was unconstitutional earlier in the day.
The administrative stay was greeted with immediate opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s legal team after taking away his short-lived victory against the president, by allowing the deployment of roughly 4,000 guards on protesters in Los Angeles to continue.
Trump posted on social media following the appeals court’s decision, claiming that “If it weren’t for me getting the National Guard into Los Angeles, it would be burning to the ground right now!”
“Incompetent Gavin Newscum should have been THANKING me for the job we did in Los Angeles, rather than making sad excuses for the poor job he has done.”
Since last weekend, protests in Hollywood have continued and are expected to persist through the weekend. Though they began peacefully, several have turned violent, with law enforcement as the target in some cases. According to Time magazine, more than 350 people have either been detained or arrested since the protests began on June 6.
In his 36-page ruling, Breyer argued that the Trump administration acted unlawfully in federalizing the National Guard without consent from Newsom, as the commander in chief of the state of California.
“His actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith,” he said.
But in response, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly ultimately said the district court has no authority to dictate Trump’s authority as president:
“The president exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom’s lawless Los Angeles. The Trump administration will immediately appeal this abuse of power and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” Kelly said, per The Associated Press.
