President Donald Trump’s federalization of the California National Guard is “an alarming abuse of power,” every Democratic governor in the country said in a joint statement.
Trump, in response to his administration’s ramping up of immigration enforcement actions around the Los Angeles area and the subsequent protests, deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles. The move came despite Gov. Gavin Newsom objecting to the activation of the National Guard.
“President Trump’s move to deploy California’s National Guard is an alarming abuse of power,” the Democratic governors said in a joint statement.
“Governors are the commanders in chief of their National Guard, and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous,” the statement continued.
“It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Gov. Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation.”
Meanwhile, Newsom on Sunday formally requested that the Trump administration return the command of the National Guard back to him.
“At present, law enforcement authorities from the city and county of Los Angeles are safeguarding public safety, and, as demonstrated by the robust law enforcement response yesterday evening to protect federal facilities, local law enforcement resources are sufficient to maintain order,” David Sapp, the legal affairs secretary to Newsom, said in the letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“In dynamic and fluid situations such as the one in Los Angeles, state and local authorities are the most appropriate ones to evaluate the need for resources to safeguard life and property,” Sapp said. “Indeed, the decision to deploy the National Guard without appropriate training or orders risks seriously escalating the situation.”
Trump, however, has said he needed to federalize California’s National Guard to “address the lawlessness” in California.
In a post on his Truth Social account Sunday afternoon, Trump alleged that “violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our federal agents to try and stop our deportation operations.”
“But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve,” Trump’s post said.