# California Sues Trump Administration Over Federalized National Guard Deployment in Los Angeles
*Event date: 2025-06-09*
By IO Digest Desk
California sued the Trump administration on June 9, 2025 over the federal deployment of the state's National Guard in Los Angeles, opening a direct legal clash over presidential emergency powers, state authority and the government's response to protests linked to immigration enforcement operations.
According to CBS News, the lawsuit argues that President Donald Trump unlawfully bypassed Governor Gavin Newsom by placing California National Guard troops under federal control without the governor's permission. The administration deployed the Guard to protect federal property and personnel during protests in Los Angeles, citing a law that allows a president to call the Guard into federal service during a rebellion.
California's argument is that the situation did not meet that threshold. The complaint said there had been no rebellion or insurrection over the previous three days and that the protests, while tense and at times violent, had not reached a level that justified the federal takeover of the Guard. The suit also said Section 12406 requires orders calling up the National Guard to go through governors, who ordinarily command those forces.
That legal framing turned the case into more than a dispute over one weekend of unrest. It became a constitutional test over how far a president can go in asserting control over a state's military resources during domestic disorder. CBS reported that the state described the move as an unprecedented power grab and argued that it had stoked fear, heightened tensions and undermined civil rather than military governance.
Newsom sharpened the political message outside court. CBS quoted him saying that commandeering a state's National Guard without consulting its governor was both illegal and immoral. He also accused Trump of inflaming the situation rather than calming it.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta backed that position by arguing that the statute cited by the White House only applies in narrow circumstances such as invasion, rebellion or the inability of regular federal forces to execute the law. In Bonta's view, none of those conditions existed in Los Angeles. He also said the state had ample law enforcement capacity to manage unrest on its own and could call up the Guard itself if needed.
The confrontation escalated further when the Trump administration activated 700 active-duty Marines to assist the Guard. CBS reported that Newsom suggested California was also preparing legal action over that step, though it was not yet clear whether it would be folded into the existing case or pursued separately.
At street level, the dispute was unfolding alongside arrests and clashes. CBS said National Guard troops were sent to downtown Los Angeles after protests followed large-scale Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. As of midday June 9, officials said 53 people had been arrested across agencies, including arrests linked to failure to disperse, objects and fireworks thrown at police, looting and arson.
Trump and Newsom were also engaged in an increasingly personal public fight. CBS reported that Trump voiced support for arresting the governor, though border official Tom Homan later said there was no intention to do so.
The lawsuit now places the matter before a federal court, but its significance already extends beyond California. The case is a direct challenge to the use of federal military authority inside a state over the objections of its elected leadership, and its outcome could shape the boundaries of state and presidential power well beyond Los Angeles.
