A lower court judge’s order instructing President Donald Trump to return control of 4,000 California National Guard troops he had federalized to Gov. Gavin Newsom was temporarily blocked late Thursday in the federal appeals court.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision does not mean the court will ultimately agree with Trump, but Reuters reports it does leave command of the Guard with the president for now.
CNBC notes U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had ruled Trump’s action was “illegal,” but stayed his order from taking effect until 3 p.m. ET on Friday to allow the Trump administration to appeal.
Trump: This won't be the Summer of Love all over again
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 10, 2025
"I've been here before... I waited for governors to say 'Send in the National Guard.' They wouldn't do it... I said to myself, 'If that stuff happens again, we've got to make faster decisions.'" pic.twitter.com/vBfpFvTPcw
The administration promptly did just that. It asked the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to block Breyer’s ruling from taking effect. The CNBC report set out the next steps:
The 9th Circuit, in temporarily granting that request, scheduled a hearing for Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the appellate court will consider arguments then on whether to extend a stay of Breyer’s order, or allow his ruling to take effect.
Trump, over the past week, federalized 4,000 members of the California National Guard and mobilized another approximately 700 U.S. Marines to respond to violent anti-ICE riots roiling Los Angeles.
Newsom and California’s attorney general sued to reverse Trump’s takeover of the Guard without the consent of the governor, the first time in U.S. history a president had taken such an action.
Trump: “We Stopped Tremendous Destruction and Death” in Los Angeles
The White House had called Breyer’s original order “unprecedented” and said it “puts our brave federal officials in danger.”
“The district court has no authority to usurp the President’s authority as Commander in Chief,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.
“The President exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom’s lawless Los Angeles. The Trump Administration will immediately appeal this abuse of power and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
