A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump unlawfully federalized thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles and ordered the administration to return control of the troops to California.
The ruling came amid rising tensions between Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over federal military intervention in the state. Newsom had filed a motion for a temporary restraining order that would limit the activities of 4,000 Guard members and 700 Marines to protecting federal buildings in a small area of downtown where most protests against federal immigration raids have taken place.
"His actions were illegal – both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith," U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer wrote in his 36-page ruling.
Since the White House press office selected reporters from five pro-Trump, partisan news outlets to ask...
