9th Circuit Rules Trump's 4,000-Troop National Guard Deployment to LA Was Unlawful

A divided panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on October 23, 2026, that President Trump's June 2025 deployment of roughly 4,000 California National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area was an unlawful abuse of his authority. The court rejected the administration's claim that the deployment responded to a "rebellion," with Judge Jennifer Sung writing for the majority that the government had not made "either of the required threshold showings" needed to justify federalizing the Guard.

The ruling follows a Supreme Court decision in December finding that Trump's separate federalization of the Illinois National Guard was illegal, and continues a case in which the same appeals court had earlier allowed a 60-day call-up while holding that the president's federalization decision could still be reviewed by courts. Judge Mark Bennett dissented, arguing the panel should not have ruled because the administration had sought to withdraw its own appeal.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called it "yet another court" rejecting what he described as an illegal takeover of the state's Guard, and Attorney General Rob Bonta said the deployment was "a clear example of federal overreach." The Justice Department had not responded to a request for comment.