Interesting his confrontation with the White House, Governor Gavin Newsom demanded on Sunday that President Trump withdrew the troops from the California National Guard in the streets and far from the demonstrations taking place in Los Angeles.
Newsom said on X that the deployment order was “illegal” and called on the Trump administration to return the command of his office.
It is extremely rare for a president to call the troops of the national guard of a state without the authorization of the governor of this state in order to repress the troubles or to enforce the law. In California, the General Warrant Officer of the National State Guard is appointed by the governor.
“Meeting the order,” wrote Mr. Newsom on Sunday on X. “Return Control to California”.
The Democratic Governor made his request while demonstrations against the repression of immigration took place in certain parts of Los Angeles, marked by clouds of tear gas and confrontations between the demonstrators and the application of the laws. There was no immediate response from the White House.
“We had no problem as long as Trump got involved”, ” Mr. Newsom said. “This is a serious violation of state sovereignty – ignite tensions while pulling resources from where they are really necessary.”
Mr. Trump’s attempt to get around Mr. Newsom’s authority and activate the guard relied on a rarely used reading of federal law. When the order is signed on Saturday, the president cited a provision in title 10 of the American code on armed services which allows federal deployment of the National Guard forces if there is a rebellion or a danger of rebellion against the authority of the United States government. “”
The last time a president has surpassed a state governor to activate the National Guard to arrest the troubles or enforce the law, it was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect the demonstrators of civil rights, according to Elizabeth Goitein, principal director of the Liberty and National Security program in Brennan Center for justice.
In a letter to Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, David SAPP, secretary of legal affairs of the governor, argued that there was no need for such an intervention and that the situation was properly controlled by local police.
“The local resources for applying the law are sufficient to maintain order,” SAPP told Mr. HegSeth by exhorting him to cancel the order.
“In dynamic and fluid situations such as that of Los Angeles, state and local authorities are the most suitable for assessing the need for resources to protect life and goods,” Sapp wrote.
He also told Mr. Hegseth that the President’s order had not followed the law, which, according to him, requires that the deployment orders be made through a state governor.
