By Vanguard Staff
OAKLAND, CA – California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom filed a motion Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asking the court to lift a stay on proceedings and block what they called the “unlawful federalization and deployment” of the California National Guard by the Trump administration.
The motion follows an October 29 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirming that the District Court has jurisdiction to hear California’s case challenging President Donald Trump’s August order keeping the California National Guard under federal control through February 2026.
In the filing, Bonta and Newsom asked the court to restart proceedings and issue a preliminary injunction halting the deployment of federalized Guard troops in Los Angeles and returning them to state command.
“The Trump Administration believes it can keep California’s National Guard federalized and deployed wherever, forever, and for any purpose—no further justification necessary,” said Bonta. “That is simply not true, and we’re asking the court to issue a ruling that says as much without delay. The Ninth Circuit’s recent order made clear that this remains a live issue, and we are confident that when we make our case, we will prevail.”
“President Trump turned the National Guard against the communities they swore to serve. This is unlawful and immoral,” said Governor Newsom.
“Under state direction, California National Guard members have always been deployed in support of our communities—acting as surge medical staff in crises, helping with wildfire management, supporting fentanyl interdiction, and now, as the President withholds food stamps from hungry families, the Guard is distributing food to those in need,” the Governor said. “The National Guard deserves better than being treated like Trump’s toy soldiers—and when they’re returned to California command, we’ll get them back to doing the real work they signed up to do.”
According to the motion, the Trump administration’s August 5 order unlawfully extended federal control of the California National Guard despite no ongoing emergency in Los Angeles.
The plaintiffs argue that Trump’s actions violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of military forces in civilian law enforcement, and exceed the authority granted under 10 U.S.C. § 12406, which limits federalization of state National Guards to cases of “unusual and extreme exigencies.”
In their filing, state officials wrote that there is “no colorable basis” for keeping troops federalized or deployed in Los Angeles, noting that recent demonstrations in the city have been peaceful. The motion highlights that while 214 federalized California National Guard members were transferred from Los Angeles to Oregon, 101 remain stationed in Los Angeles without justification.
The 31-page motion also details a pattern of expansion of Trump’s federalization orders to other states. In recent weeks, the administration federalized National Guard troops in Oregon and Illinois over the objections of those states’ governors.
The document notes that Oregon, Illinois, and the District of Columbia have all filed lawsuits against the federal government’s actions and secured temporary restraining orders limiting the deployment of federalized troops.
The state’s filing describes what it calls “a blank check” approach by the Trump administration to use the National Guard wherever it chooses. Plaintiffs argue that the president’s June 7 memorandum has become the basis for a “broad-ranging, never-ending federalization and military occupation of American cities.”
“There was no colorable basis to again federalize the California National Guard in Los Angeles on August 5, and there remains no basis for keeping them in California now,” the motion states. “Whatever 10 U.S.C. § 12406 permits, it certainly does not authorize the sort of broad-ranging, never-ending federalization and military occupation of American cities that Defendants are perpetrating.”
The filing also describes the removal of most Guard members from Los Angeles as proof that the conditions used to justify the original federalization no longer exist.
In June, the Trump administration federalized about 4,000 California National Guard troops—nearly one-third of the state’s active Guard members—for use in civilian law enforcement in Los Angeles.
After several months of litigation, a federal court ruled in August that the president’s deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act. That ruling, however, was stayed by the Ninth Circuit pending appeal.
Bonta and Newsom wrote that the continuing federal control of the Guard “harms California’s sovereign interests, intrudes on the state’s traditional law enforcement functions, and diverts members of the Guard from performing critical work for the state.”
The motion specifically cites that members of the California National Guard are currently needed for wildfire prevention, drug interdiction, and humanitarian missions.
The filing points out that on October 22, Governor Newsom deployed Guard members to assist food banks across the state amid the federal shutdown and the delay of SNAP food benefits for 5.5 million Californians.
The document also references President Trump’s public statements suggesting that he views the National Guard as a “standing force” available for deployment anywhere in the country and quotes him referring to America’s cities as “training grounds for our National Guard.”
California’s filing emphasizes that the president’s actions have expanded beyond Los Angeles, with troops being shuffled from one state to another without coordination or request from governors.
Fourteen California Guard members were sent to Illinois in early October to train other federalized troops, and 200 remain stationed in Oregon, despite federal court orders restricting their use.
The motion concludes by urging the court to lift the stay, resume proceedings, and order the return of all California National Guard members to the command and control of the governor.
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court should lift the stay on Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction, enjoin Defendants’ federalization and deployment of the National Guard in and around Los Angeles, and order the return of any members of the federalized California National Guard remaining in California to the command and control of the Governor,” the motion states.
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