Trump Celebrates Temporary Ruling Allowing Troop Deployment: ‘We Saved L.A.’
The president declared that Los Angeles “would be burning to the ground right now” if he didn’t send in the National Guard.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump celebrated after an appeals court signed off on his deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops against protestors in Los Angeles.
“The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can use the National Guard to keep our cities, in this case Los Angeles, safe,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “If I didn’t send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now. We saved L.A. Thank you for the Decision!!!”
On Thursday, a federal judge had sided against Trump, ordering him to relinquish control of California’s National Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom.
The appeals court—at least for now—has sided with Trump over California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Newsom, a Democrat who has sparred with Trump over the handling of protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in L.A., was quick to take a victory lap of his own—even as the federal government appealed the decision.
“This win is not just for California, but the nation,” Newsom wrote on X. “It’s a check on a man whose authoritarian tendencies are increasing by the day.”
BREAKING: The court just confirmed what we all know — the military belongs on the battlefield, not on our city streets.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 13, 2025
This win is not just for California, but the nation.
It’s a check on a man whose authoritarian tendencies are increasing by the day.
End the illegal… pic.twitter.com/0YMqvZSN6u
But just hours later, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals intervened and paused the ruling in a one-page order, meaning that Trump can keep the troops in L.A. for the time being. The court set a hearing for Tuesday.
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It is still possible that Newsom could prevail over Trump once the court considers the case on its merits.
The San Francisco judge who originally sided with the governor—Charles Breyer, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton—was vehement in rejecting Trump’s justification for deploying the guard.
Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard troops to quell anti-ICE protests in L.A.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“His actions were illegal,” the judge wrote, “both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
Trump has also moved 700 Marines to L.A., but the judge’s order didn’t address these troops because they have not yet been actively involved in the protests.
Typically, a state’s governor must sign off before the National Guard is mobilized. However, Trump invoked a law that allows the president to do so in cases where there is a rebellion.
Trump and Newsom have battled over how to handle the L.A. protests.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Over the last week, as protests have raged in L.A.—at times becoming violent—Newsom and Trump have traded barbs.
Newsom has likened Trump to “failed dictators,” calling his deployment of troops a “brazen abuse of power.”
The president, meanwhile, has called Newsom “grossly incompetent,” suggesting that he could be arrested for his handling of the protests.
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