California to sue Trump administration for taking over National Guard
California is suing President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for sending 2,000 California National Guard members to put down immigration protests in Los Angeles over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a virtual press conference Monday he and Newsom would ask a federal judge to block and declare illegal Trump’s memorandum federalizing guard members for up to 60 days. He accused the president of abusing his authority by rushing to take over the National Guard to quell protests against recent federal immigration raids instead of lending support to local and state law enforcement.
A copy of the lawsuit was not immediately available Monday afternoon.
At least 300 guard members from the San Diego-based 79th Infantry Combat Brigade Team were in Los Angeles as of Monday to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and federal buildings. The Defense Department officials said Monday it was sending 700 Marines from Twentynine Palms to assist the Guard members already in Los Angeles.
Bonta told reporters Trump’s actions were “unprecedented,” violated state sovereignty and were designed to manufacture a conflict between the Golden State and the White House by falsely claiming the protests were the result of a foreign invasion or rebellion against the federal government.
“What is happening in Los Angeles, worse has happened elsewhere,” Bonta said, stressing that the protests were mostly peaceful. “We have the biggest sheriff’s department in the nation and the third largest police department in the nation, and are completely prepared and ready to address that, and they have mutual aid they can call on.”
The lawsuit Bonta announced Monday is the 24th time California has sued the White House since Trump took office 19 weeks ago.
Since then, the federal administration has escalated its attacks on California by threatening to withhold federal funds if lawmakers don’t rescind anti-discrimination laws or amend its climate policies.
Newsom has thrown his weight publicly behind a handful of those suits as he has taken a more aggressive posture against the White House in recent months after initially sidestepping conflict with Trump in the early days of the administration.
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority,” Newsom said in a statement. “This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM with the headline "California to sue Trump administration for taking over National Guard."
