Judge Rules Trump's National Guard Takeover Failed the Statute — Appeals Court Freezes the Order Hours Later

On June 12, 2025, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted California a temporary restraining order in Newsom v. Trump, holding that the federalization of the state's National Guard did not satisfy 10 U.S.C. 12406. Breyer found the Los Angeles protests fell 'far short of rebellion,' rejected the alternative argument that the President was 'unable' to execute the laws, and held that neither Trump nor Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had issued orders 'through' Governor Gavin Newsom as the statute requires. He also found the federalization interfered with the state's police power in violation of the Tenth Amendment, ordered control of the Guard returned to Newsom, and stayed that order until noon the next day while setting a preliminary-injunction hearing for June 20.

The ruling put a court squarely between a president and his claimed authority to command a state's militia, and the appellate response set the operative rule for the rest of the deployment.

By roughly 8:30 p.m. Pacific the same evening, the Ninth Circuit issued an administrative stay preserving the federalization. On June 19 a unanimous three-judge panel extended the stay, holding under a 'highly deferential' standard that the President had likely exercised his statutory authority lawfully. The troops remained federalized.