A federal appeals court panel on Thursday permitted US President Donald Trump to keep the National Guard deployed in Los Angeles, for now, The Hill reported.
The unanimous order from a three-judge panel for the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals extended its pause of a judge’s order finding Trump’s deployment illegal and forcing him to return control of the troops to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The three judge appeals panel included two judges nominated by Trump – Eric Miller and Mark Bennett and a judge appointed by former US President Joe Biden – Judge Jennifer Sung.
In its unsigned 38-page decision, the appeals panel wrote, “We emphasize, however, that our decision addresses only the facts before us. And although we hold that the President likely has authority to federalize the National Guard, nothing in our decision addresses the nature of the activities in which the federalized National Guard may engage.”
The panel said it did not agree with the administration that Trump’s decision is not reviewable by the courts. However, the judges said they must be “highly deferential.”
The opinion reads, “Affording the President that deference, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority.”
The court’s order came after Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops to protect immigration officers due to the recent protests in Los Angeles, which at times resulted in violence. Newsom and the state’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against Trump’s decision, The Hill reported.
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals decision marks a win for Trump in the legal battle. However, the victory may be short-lived as the US District Judge Charles Breyer, who issued last week’s decision invalidating the deployment, is set to hold a hearing on Friday on whether to issue an indefinite injunction. Former US President Bill Clinton had appointed Breyer, who is also the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Trump deployed troops using a statute that enables him to federalize the National Guard whenever there is a rebellion or when he cannot execute federal laws with regular forces. On Thursday, the appeals panel said it agreed the latter trigger was likely met, so it did not need to reach the question if there was a rebellion.
The opinion reads, “Plaintiffs’ own submissions state that some protesters threw objects, including Molotov cocktails, and vandalized property. According to the declarations submitted by Defendants, those activities significantly impeded the ability of federal officers to execute the laws,” The Hill reported.
In addition, the judges rejected argument made by Newsom that Trump failed a statutory requirement to issue his deployment order “through” the governor. Newsom said Trump needed his consent as per the requirement. However, the judges contented that informing the adjutant general of the California National Guard was likely sufficient. The panel said that the statute “does not give governors any veto power over the President’s federalization decision.”
