President Donald Trump notched another victory after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that he may maintain control of California National Guard troops, Newsmax reported. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and others had sued to keep him from using the military to control anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles.
Trump celebrated Thursday's victory on his Truth Social after the ruling. "BIG WIN in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the President's core power to call in the National Guard!" Trump posted.
"The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared, but this is much bigger than Gavin, because all over the United States, if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done," Trump said. He called it a "Great Decision for our Country."
Trump was forced to deploy the military to Los Angeles because of the riots against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Local officials seemed unable or unwilling to quell the riots, so Trump sent another 2,000 California National Guard troops prior to Thursday's ruling.
There are currently 4,100 National Guard troops plus another 700 U.S. Marines. The number of protesters has been dwindling, perhaps because of the military presence, but Newsom continues to argue that sending the National Guard provoked the rioters and overstepped Trump's authority.
A lower court initially sided with Newsom's lawsuit against military involvement. Democrat-appointed U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the riots fell "far short" of the threshold of "rebellion" that Trump used to deploy soldiers.
While Newsom was fighting Trump's ability to send in troops, the California governor remained unfazed by the fact that Los Angeles was burning. According to the New York Post, Newsom was spotted at a ritzy Napa Valley wine-tasting and fundraiser as riots got underway.
"I couldn’t believe it. He was just walking around like this was an everyday occurrence," one witness, who captured a photograph of Newsom at the event, said.
Although the three-judge panel agreed to allow Trump to keep control of the troops through the appeal, the fight is nowhere near over. According to the Associated Press, Breyer has asked both sides to prepare arguments by noon Monday to make their cases about whether Trump is violating the Posse Comitatus Act.
The law makes it illegal for military troops on American soil to do the job of civilian law enforcement. Newsom said in his legal filing that a "violation of the Posse Comitatus Act is imminent, if not already underway," though the judge tabled that issue until now.
Trump believes he has the power to use the federal troops based on Title 10. It allows for deployment when an area "is invaded," if "there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government," or when the president isn't able "to execute the laws of the United States" because of an uprising.
Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance has been making the case for Trump. "The president has a very simple proposal to everybody in every city, every community, every town whether big or small, if you enforce your own laws and if you protect federal law enforcement, we’re not going to send in the National Guard because it’s unnecessary," Vance told the press in Los Angeles.
The courts will have the final say, but it appears that Trump's intervention has been effective in the meantime. Newsom is a terrible leader who is comfortable with one of his major cities descending into chaos, which only highlights the contrast between the two leaders.
