Judge Rules Trump Must End National Guard Deployment In California

Source: Anadolu / Getty

On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must end the deployment of the National Guard in California. 

According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority and that control of the National Guard must be returned to California Governor Gavin Newsom. “The founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances. Defendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one,” Breyer said, referring to the Trump administration. 

The one joy I take through the Trump administration’s nonsense is reading the new and inventive ways federal judges manage to read them for filth in legalese. 

Breyer accused the Trump administration of “effectively creating a national police force made up of state troops.” He added that the idea that protests in the state were so intense that local law enforcement couldn’t capably handle them defied “common sense.” 

“After all, local law enforcement like the LAPD, the LASD, and the California Highway Patrol (“CHP”) have not only been willing to manage the protests, but have capably done so since June,” he wrote. 

According to The New York Times, Meghan Strong, a California deputy attorney general, argued that since civil unrest has significantly died down since the Summer, there’s no reason for the National Guard to still be deployed. Strong argued that “the existence of a present exigency” is the basis for Trump being able to federalize the Guard. “Once that exigency has passed, the federalization has to end,” Strong said.

Breyer agreed with Strong’s argument, adding that the Trump administration failed to provide evidence of any current emergencies in California preventing enforcement of federal laws, a legal requirement for Trump to continue federalizing the National Guard.

“No crisis lasts forever,” Breyer wrote. 

In June, Trump deployed 4,000 National Guardsmen to California in response to large-scale protests against immigration raids being conducted throughout the state. In recent months, the Trump administration has scaled back the number of National Guard members deployed in the state, with only 100 remaining. 

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson issued a statement implying the administration would appeal the ruling, saying they looked forward to securing “ultimate victory on the issue.”

“President Trump exercised his lawful authority to deploy National Guard troops to support federal officers and assets following violent riots that local leaders like Newscum refused to stop,” Jackson added, referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom by a pejorative. 

It’s so hard to take these people seriously, dear lord. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta released a statement calling the ruling a victory for democracy. “The President is not king,” Bonta wrote. “And he cannot federalize the National Guard whenever, wherever, and for however long he wants, without justification.”

Trump’s use of the National Guard has been controversial and marred by several legal setbacks. Trump’s attempts to deploy the National Guard in Memphis, Chicago, and Portland have all faced legal blocks from judges. Not to mention morale has been dwindling among the deployed Guardsmen, with a Signal group chat being formed where they’ve been questioning the validity of their orders. Polling has consistently shown that the majority of Americans aren’t in favor of the National Guard assisting with law enforcement.

I’d like to think that the negative public reaction and legal setbacks would cause the Trump administration to slow its role in deploying the National Guard to Democratic cities, but when has that man ever made the smart play? 

SEE ALSO:

Appeals Court Gives Trump Temporary Control Of National Guard

Appeals Court Allows Trump To Keep Control Of National Guard In LA