By Vanguard Staff
OAKLAND, CA — In a direct challenge to President Donald Trump’s authority, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to block the federalization of the California National Guard. The suit, aimed at both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, argues that the president’s actions violate the Tenth Amendment and exceed federal authority under a little-used law governing state militias.
The lawsuit follows the Trump administration’s decision to deploy up to 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles without Governor Newsom’s consent. According to the state’s legal filing, this unprecedented move not only bypassed the Governor’s authority but also occurred after the protests had largely quieted, undermining the administration’s stated rationale for intervention.
“President Trump’s order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles—over the objections of the Governor and local law enforcement—is unnecessary and counterproductive,” Attorney General Bonta said in a statement. “Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends.”
Governor Newsom echoed that condemnation in forceful terms. “Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority,” he said. “This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic. Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach.”
The conflict stems from a presidential memorandum issued on the evening of June 7, titled “Department of Defense Security for the Protection of Department of Homeland Security Functions.” It authorizes the U.S. Department of Defense to mobilize 2,000 California National Guard members for a 60-day deployment. The move follows a series of ICE raids across downtown Los Angeles on June 6 and 7, which sparked widespread protests. Though tensions had reportedly diminished by the time the National Guard arrived early Sunday morning, their presence reignited unrest, contrary to the administration’s stated goal of restoring order.
State officials argue that the use of 10 U.S.C. § 12406 to justify the deployment is not only a gross misuse of power but a rare and alarming precedent. The statute, which permits federal activation of state National Guard units, has only been invoked independently once in modern history—by President Richard Nixon in 1970 during a postal strike. The last time a president federalized a state’s National Guard without that state’s consent was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights marchers.
In this case, Newsom had neither requested National Guard support nor consented to federalization. Instead, the governor warned that such a deployment could worsen tensions on the ground. After the order was issued, Newsom sent a formal letter to Defense Secretary Hegseth urging the Department of Defense to rescind the order and return control of the National Guard to the state.
According to the complaint, federalizing the California National Guard not only strips the state of crucial emergency responders but also undermines its constitutional sovereignty. The suit asks the court to invalidate the federalization order on several legal grounds:
- That the President’s use of 10 U.S.C. § 12406 lacks legal justification and bypasses the necessary consent of the Governor.
- That the deployment infringes upon California’s sovereign authority under the Tenth Amendment and disrupts the National Guard’s role as a state resource.
- That the order unlawfully removes the California Governor’s command authority over the state militia in the absence of a legitimate federal emergency.
The legal filing also expresses concern that President Trump intends to use the National Guard to conduct interior civil immigration enforcement—functions traditionally carried out by ICE—noting this would further terrorize immigrant communities and exacerbate tensions.
“This is beyond incompetence,” Newsom said. “This is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand.”
The lawsuit marks one of the sharpest legal confrontations yet between California leaders and the Trump administration over the boundaries of federal authority and the role of the military in domestic affairs.
