Judge blocks Trump’s National Guard deployment in LA with sharp rebuke
The Trump Administration must end its deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles and return control of the troops to the state, according to a ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco.
Judge Breyer granted a preliminary injunction to California officials who opposed President Trump’s use of state troops since June, when the administration seized control of the guard — against Governor Gavin Newsom’s wishes — to confront protests against immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles.
The ruling is the latest in a series of legal setbacks for the Trump administration, which has deployed National Guard troops to several Democratic-led cities across the country, claiming they are needed to crack down on crime and protect federal immigration facilities and officers.
Nearly every deployment is currently tied up in a legal battle, all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The first of such deployments was to Los Angeles this summer, after Trump seized control of the California National Guard and sent more than 4,000 troops to the city. That number has since dropped to around 100, but the administration has sought to extend the federalization of the state’s guard several times, most recently until February, saying it’s still necessary.
The administration has argued that after initially federalizing a state’s National Guard, any extension should be allowed, without review.
“That is shocking,” Judge Breyer wrote in his ruling on Wednesday, saying that adopting that interpretation of the law would “permit a president to create a perpetual police force comprised of state troops, so long as they were first federalized lawfully.”
Constitutional law scholars have also expressed concerns in recent months around Trump’s federalization of various state National Guards, saying the president is pushing the limits of executive power and normalizing the idea of troops on streets.
Breyer’s ruling went on to say that the administration’s “argument for a president to hold unchecked power to control state troops would wholly upend the federalism that is at the heart of our system of government.”
In response to NPR’s request for comment, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson asserted that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles was within his “lawful authority.”
“We look forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” Jackson wrote.
The ruling is stayed until Monday to allow for appeal.
Egypt and Iran object to playing in a Seattle ‘Pride’ match in next year’s World Cup
Local organizers had planned to include the June 26 game with Seattle's Pride celebrations. Then, FIFA announced the match would include Egypt and Iran, two countries where gay rights are nil.
Supreme Court struggles over whether Alabama can execute man found to be intellectually disabled
There was no clear outcome apparent after the justices heard two hours of arguments in an appeal from Alabama, which wants to put to death a man who lower federal courts found is intellectually disabled.
What to know about death cap mushrooms, blamed for poisonings in California
Death cap mushrooms look harmless, but are responsible for the majority of the world's mushroom-related deaths. California officials say 21 people have been sickened in recent weeks, one fatally.
Author Sophie Kinsella, who penned the ‘Shopaholic’ books, has died at 55
The author, whose real name was Madeleine Sophie Wickham, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in late 2022.
The fight to beat neglected tropical diseases was going well. 2025 could change that
The campaign to prevent and treat these diseases has seen great success thanks to a USAID program. Now that program is gone.
Greetings from Andhra Pradesh, India, where a fragrant food stand feeds working women
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.
