Police officers are on duty in Los Angeles, the United States, June 11, 2025 Photo: Xinhua

A federal appeals court late Thursday blocked a lower court judge’s order instructing US President Donald Trump to return control of 4,000 California National Guard troops that he had federalized to Gov. Gavin Newsom, CNBC reported.

Earlier Thursday, US District Judge Charles Breyer had ruled that Trump’s action was “illegal,” but stayed his order from taking effect until 3 pm ET on Friday to allow the Trump administration to appeal his decision. The administration promptly did just that, asking the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals to block Breyer’s ruling from taking effect, according to the CNBC report.

The 9th Circuit, in temporarily granting that request, scheduled a hearing for Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the appellate court will consider arguments then on whether to extend a stay of Breyer’s order, or allow his ruling to take effect, according to the CNBC report.

Judge Charles Breyer said Trump overstepped his bounds in ordering the deployment of roughly 4,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles after protests erupted over the immigration crackdown, according to the AP report.
US California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a post on social media X platform that “the court just confirmed what we all know — the military belongs on the battlefield, not on our city streets. This win is not just for California, but the nation.”

Top legal officials in the US state of California moved to halt Trump's deployment of military forces in their communities, filing an emergency court motion on June 10 that challenged the federal government's authority to use troops for local law enforcement, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom requested in the 28-page document that the federal court take immediate action to block Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the US Department of Defense from using military personnel and federalized California National Guard units to patrol communities and conduct law enforcement activities, according to Xinhua.

Breyer’s order came hours after a hearing held in US District Court in San Francisco, where he sharply questioned lawyers for the federal government on Trump’s rationale and authority for the move, according to the CNBC report.

Global Times