On Saturday, January 11, 2025 California Governor Gavin Newsom meets with National Guard members in Los Angeles

December 24, 2025 - OAKLAND — On Tuesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta celebrated a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting the Trump Administration’s nearly limitless conception of presidential authority to federalize the National Guard and the activities those troops can engage in. In rejecting the Trump Administration’s request for a stay in Illinois v. Trump, the Supreme Court leaves in place a temporary court order blocking the deployment of federalized National Guard troops in Chicago, Illinois, finding the Trump Administration failed to establish that “regular forces” — the military — were unable to execute the law. The Supreme Court further finds that 10 U.S.C. 12406 does not authorize the President to use the Guard for protective functions at federal property and that the military had no lawful role to play in executing the laws either.

“We’ve argued for months against the Trump Administration’s sweeping militarized vision of America. The Supreme Court has now agreed, rejecting the Trump Administration’s unprecedented invocation of a seldom-used statute to justify the limitless deployment of National Guard troops on American soil,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Today, Americans can breathe a huge sigh of relief. While this is not necessarily the end of the road, it is a significant, deeply gratifying step in the right direction. We plan to ask the lower courts to reach the same result in our cases—and we are hopeful they will do quickly.” 

Source: CA. DOJ