California sues Trump over National Guard deployment in Los Angeles
The state of California have filed a 22-page legal action against President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops in Los Angeles, claiming it violated the Constitution and state authority, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
According to the complaint, the lawsuit was filed “to protect the State against the illegal actions of the President, Secretary of Defense, and Department of Defense to deploy members of the California National Guard, without lawful authority, and in violation of the Constitution.” The state is asking the court to reverse the deployment and return full control of the Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom.
The legal filing argues that President Trump used the June 7 protests as justification for what it calls an “unprecedented power grab,” despite local authorities having the situation under control:
“President Trump has repeatedly invoked emergency powers to exceed the bounds of lawful executive authority. On Saturday, June 7, he used a protest that local authorities had under control to make another unprecedented power grab, this time at the cost of the sovereignty of the State of California and in disregard of the authority and role of the Governor as commander-in-chief of the State’s National Guard.”
The document also highlights that the U.S. Constitution grants states control over their National Guard units unless federal oversight is requested or consented to:
“One of the cornerstones of our Nation and our democracy is that our people are governed by civil, not military, rule. The Founders enshrined these principles in our Constitution—that a government should be accountable to its people, guided by the rule of law, and one of civil authority, not military rule.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta noted that the federal statute invoked by Trump has only been used once before, particularly by President Richard Nixon in 1970 during a postal strike. He added that this is the first time since 1965 that a president has activated such powers without a governor’s approval.
In turn, President Trump praised the National Guard’s actions, claiming their presence prevented Los Angeles from “burning to the ground.” He also criticized state and city officials for a "weak" response to protest-related violence.
Earlier, it was reported that U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that his relationship with billionaire Elon Musk has ended amid an ongoing political dispute.
