US federal judge halts Trump’s National Guard operations in California

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, California, ordering that they must be returned to the authority of the state governor.

United States District Judge Charles Breyer rejected the government’s claim that the deployment was necessary to quell protests against the administration’s aggressive immigration raids in a ruling on Wednesday.

“The founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances. Defendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one,” Breyer said.

President Donald Trump’s deployments of the National Guard to cities across the country have often occurred despite resistance from state and local officials and in the absence of any serious emergency conditions.

About 4,000 members of the California National Guard were sent to Los Angeles in June without the governor’s approval, while only about 100 remain there today. The government had argued that its presence was necessary to help protect federal officials and property, and had extended the deployment through February.

Breyer’s decision grants a preliminary injunction sought by California officials, but also places the decision on hold until Monday.

The administration has also clashed with California over efforts to deploy members of the state National Guard to the city of Portland in neighbouring Oregon.

Democratic officials such as California Governor Gavin Newsom have slammed the troop deployment as an authoritarian power grab meant to stifle dissent in cities seen as hubs of resistance to the Trump administration.

Newsom’s office reacted to the Wednesday ruling with a social media post celebrating “Another W (win) for Democracy, L (loss) for the rule of the Don.”