OAKLAND, Calif. — California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 24 other state attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief May 26 supporting D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s lawsuit challenging the federalization and deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., without the mayor’s consent.
According to a California Department of Justice press release, thousands of National Guard troops remain deployed in Washington, D.C. Bonta and the coalition argue in the brief that the deployment is “unlawful, unconstitutional, and undemocratic.”
Bonta stated that last year the Trump administration sought to deploy the National Guard in multiple communities, beginning in California.
For six months, federalized California National Guard troops were deployed in California communities without Gov. Gavin Newsom’s consent. According to the press release, the military presence caused fear among Californians, leading residents to stay home, miss work and avoid certain areas where troops were deployed.
The press release also states that trust between local law enforcement and the community eroded because troops were tasked with civilian law enforcement duties and were widely present during immigration raids.
In addition, troops were diverted from essential state functions, including wildfire response and fentanyl interdiction efforts. Bonta and the coalition argue that states need the National Guard available for natural disasters and other public safety functions.
In June 2025, Bonta and Newsom filed a lawsuit challenging the deployment of California National Guard troops. According to the press release, the lawsuit resulted in court orders blocking the troops’ federalization and deployment in Los Angeles and found violations of the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the use of federal military personnel in domestic civilian law enforcement.
The press release states that multiple court orders in California, Oregon and Illinois rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to use the National Guard as a “traveling national police force.”
In the related case Illinois v. Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration failed to establish that the military involvement was necessary to execute the law. The court also ruled that 10 U.S.C. 12406 does not authorize the president to use the National Guard for protective functions at federal property.
According to the press release, the ruling rejected “the Trump administration’s nearly limitless conception of presidential authority to federalize the National Guard,” and a subsequent order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California led to the National Guard’s official withdrawal from Los Angeles in December 2025.
The domestic use of the military has long been viewed as contrary to American values and harmful to state sovereignty, local economies, public safety and troop morale.
Bonta and the coalition further argue that using the military for local law enforcement disrupts the constitutional balance between civilian and military authority. They state that the Constitution grants limited enumerated powers to the federal government and that general police powers are reserved to states and local governments.
The coalition also argues that National Guard troops are not properly trained for civilian policing because they lack experience in criminal procedures, civil rights protections, criminal investigations and de-escalation practices, creating risk for both the public and the troops themselves.
“President Trump continues to abuse his power to deploy troops on the streets of our nation’s capital,” Bonta said in the release.
He urged the D.C. Circuit to affirm that the Trump administration lacks authority to conduct what he called an “unjustified deployment” of National Guard troops to police communities.
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