Despite what a leftwing district judge wants, Donald Trump gets to remain president, at least for now. A federal appeals court has temporarily halted a controversial lower court ruling that sought to transfer control of the National Guard in Los Angeles from the president to California state authorities, allowing the Guard to remain under federal command for now.
The emergency stay, issued late Thursday by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, blocks an order from U.S. District Judge Charles B. Breyer, who had earlier declared Trump’s federal deployment of the Guard “unlawful” and ordered command handed over to Governor Gavin Newsom, reported The Daily Caller. Breyer, a Clinton appointee and brother of former liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, ruled that the president’s use of federal troops amid the week’s violent unrest violated constitutional principles of federalism.
Governor Newsom, a Democrat and frequent critic of Trump, filed the lawsuit on Monday after hundreds of National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles following riots sparked by immigration enforcement actions. The governor argued the deployment usurped state authority and exacerbated tensions between law enforcement and protestors.
In response to the appellate court’s intervention, Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social. “The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can use the National Guard to keep our cities, in this case Los Angeles, safe,” he wrote. “If I didn’t send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now. We saved L.A. Thank you for the Decision!!!”
The White House echoed that sentiment. Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told the Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday night, “The court’s order is unprecedented and puts our brave federal officials in danger,” she said. “The district court has no authority to usurp the President’s authority as Commander in Chief. 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 Ninth Circuit has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to review the matter more fully, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal showdown over the limits of federal power in domestic crises. At issue is a long-simmering constitutional debate: when unrest erupts in American cities, who commands the soldiers—Washington or the statehouse?
For now, the troops remain on patrol under orders from the White House.
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