California Sues Trump Admin Over 'Unlawful' National Guard Deployment

Following President Donald Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops to California after protesters clashed with immigration enforcement agents, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state will sue the Trump administration, calling the move unnecessary and unlawful. Shortly after, Attorney General Rob Bonta effectively filed the suit.

The move seeks a court ruling declaring Trump's order to deploy 2,000 troops illegal. Bonta accused Trump of attempting to "manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends," saying the deployment diverts crucial resources from wildfire preparedness and infringes on the state's sovereignty.

Newsom similarly argued that local law enforcement had the situation under control and said there was no justification for federal intervention.

On June 8, Newsom posted on social media a letter his office sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, reiterating that state and local authorities are best positioned to assess whether National Guard support is needed.

"Indeed, the decision to deploy the National Guard, without appropriate training or orders, risks seriously escalating the situation," the letter stated.

In a separate post, Newsom added that California law enforcement "didn't have a problem" managing the protests until Trump intervened. "This is a serious breach of state sovereignty," he wrote.

On Monday, Bonta said the state will seek a restraining order to block what he called the president's "unlawful action federalizing the California National Guard." He added that there was no migrant "invasion" or active rebellion to justify the move, as required under federal law, according to The Associated Press.

The lawsuit, which names Trump, Hegseth and the Department of Defense, argues the deployment violates the U.S. Constitution and exceeds the president's authority under Title 10. It claims the order was both unjustified and issued without the governor's required consent.

Trump's order implied that demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids were obstructing federal operations and amounted to an uprising against federal authority.

As of Monday, about 1,000 National Guard members were already in Los Angeles under federal orders, according to the AP. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the full deployment of 2,000 troops authorized by Trump is expected to be on the ground by Monday. The administration is also deploying some 700 Marines to the city to protect federal property. Marines won't carry out law enforcement actions.

Before Trump's decision to send troops to Southern California, the last time a president had activated a state's National Guard without a request from that state's governor was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson deployed troops to protect civil rights demonstrators in Alabama.

The lawsuit filed by the Newsom administration is the latest development in a continuing dispute between the California governor and Trump officials.

Over the weekend, Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, threatened to arrest anyone who obstructs immigration enforcement efforts across the country, including Newsom.

"I'll say it about anybody," Homan said. "You cross that line, it's a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job."

In response, Newsom said he wasn't threatened by Homan's comments and urged him to "just get it over with" and arrest him.

"He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me," Newsom said. "That kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let's go."