A federal judge in California on Wednesday ordered an end to Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles and directed that they be returned to the control of the state’s Democratic governor, finding that the Republican US president had exceeded his authority.
The ruling by San Francisco-based US District Judge Charles Breyer represented the latest legal setback for Trump in his efforts to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-controlled cities, an extraordinary use of the military for domestic purposes.
The US Supreme Court could ultimately decide the issue.
The judge found Trump overstepped his authority by taking control of California National Guard units and sending them to Los Angeles and elsewhere in response to protests against federal immigration authorities.
Breyer said there was no evidence to support the administration’s claim that the protests were a rebellion against the government that legally justified sending in troops.
Breyer also rejected the administration’s claim that courts have no power to review a president’s decision to take control of state National Guard units during an emergency, saying this was an overly expansive view of presidential authority.