THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA will sue the Trump administration over the president’s orders to federalize the 2000 California National Guard troops, which has “needlessly escalated chaos and violence in the Los Angeles region,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday.
The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Department of Defense.
Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta maintain the CalGuard takeover violates the U.S. Constitution and exceeds the President’s Title 10 authority, which defines states’ rights.
One of the cornerstones of our Nation and our democracy is that our people are governed by civil, not military, rule.
The Founders enshrined these principles in our Constitution — that a government should be accountable to its people, guided by the rule of law, and one of civil… pic.twitter.com/zF6FzmmOQv — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 9, 2025
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority,” Newsom said in a news release. “This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic. Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach.”
When news reached the governor Monday afternoon that Trump planned to send 700 U.S. Marines to the Los Angeles area, Newsom called it “un-American” and a misuse of the Marine Corps.
“U.S. Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy. They are heroes,” Newsom said on X. “They shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President.
In addition, the governor said Monday he’s mobilizing more than 800 state and local law enforcement officers to Los Angeles.
“After the President acted illegally to federalize the National Guard, who subsequently became the focus of large scale protests, the state is working with local partners to surge 800+ additional state and local law enforcement officers into Los Angeles to clean up President Trump’s mess,” Newsom said in a news release.
Pelosi: ‘On the road to tyranny’
On Sunday morning, U.S. Department of Defense redirected hundreds of National Guard troops from San Diego to Los Angeles without authorization from the governor and against the wishes of local law enforcement.
Bonta and Newsom plan to ask the court to hold as unlawful and set aside the President’s order federalizing the National Guard by using a rarely-used law that argues that such action exceeds the federal government’s authority under the law and violates the Tenth Amendment.
Trump’s call on Monday to arrest Newsom was a “hallmark of authoritarianism on the road to tyranny,” said U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco.
“Now we have seen the President of the United States say that he would arrest a sitting American governor just for disagreeing with the actions of this Administration,” Pelosi said.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, on Monday called the president’s CalGuard takeover “fascist overreach” and thanked the governor and attorney general for taking court action.
“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles — and now other parts of California — is straight up police state fascism,” Wiener said. “Trump is a President, bound by the rule of law, but he is acting like a king. He is not a king, and we must fight against his lawless actions. San Francisco stands united with our brothers and sisters in Los Angeles, arm in arm, against Trump’s brutal, fascist tactics.”
“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles — and now other parts of California — is straight up police state fascism.” State Sen. Scott Wiener
U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Oakland, said Sunday on social media that Trump’s order to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles County was meant to manufacture a crisis.
“He’s hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control,” Simon said on X, and urged protesters to stay peaceful.