In a dramatic legal turn on June 12, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom of California secured a restraining order against President Donald Trump’s deployment of over 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines to Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the federalization under Title 10 violated the Tenth Amendment by bypassing state authority and issued an injunction to return control of the Guard to California, pending a full hearing.
The restraining order emerged after California filed suit arguing that Trump’s troops deployment was unlawful without the Governor’s consent and exceeded his statutory powers. Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta successfully argued that the deployment constituted an unprecedented nationalization of the state’s militia for domestic enforcement, which the Constitution does not allow.
Governor Newsom denounced the action as political “theater” and warned it would endanger lives and undermine local governance The local order came as these troops were already active in Los Angeles, supporting ICE immigrations raids and related protests, which had triggered a citywide emergency and curfew.
