However, just hours earlier, Judge Charles Breyer had ruled that Trump had illegally federalized the California National Guard.

On Thursday night, U.S. President Donald Trump won a swift legal victory when a federal appeals court blocked a lower court’s order issued just hours earlier that would have returned 4,000 California National Guard troops to state control, allowing the military deployment in Los Angeles to continue.

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The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency stay just hours after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Thursday evening that Trump had illegally federalized California’s National Guard and violated the Constitution.

The appellate court’s new order not only allows the National Guard troops to continue operating under federal command but also indicates that the legal battle between Washington and the Golden State will continue. The dramatic legal reversal capped a day of courtroom confrontation between the Trump administration and California over the unprecedented federal takeover of state military forces.

Breyer ruled that Trump “exceeded the scope of his statutory authority and violated the Tenth Amendment.” The judge declared the president’s actions illegal and ordered him to “return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”

However, the Trump administration immediately appealed for a temporary restraining order against Breyer’s decision, arguing that removing military support would endanger federal agents’ ability to conduct immigration raids in Los Angeles. The 9th Circuit then approved the federal government’s request.

Meanwhile, Breyer also scheduled a hearing for June 20 to consider whether to issue a preliminary injunction in the case, which challenges the federal government’s authority to use military personnel and federalized California National Guard units for patrolling communities and conducting law enforcement operations.

Neither of Thursday’s rulings addressed California Governor Gavin Newsom’s request to immediately block Trump’s call-up of 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles. Breyer stated that any action on the matter would be premature, as the Marine troops had not yet arrived in the city. Newsom has not yet commented on the 9th Circuit’s decision. 

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Xinhua

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