Trump's military move exceeds his authority as president
Share this @internewscast.com

Left: FILE – California Governor Gavin Newsom presents his updated state budget during a press conference in Sacramento, California, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 (Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, File). Right: President Donald Trump speaks at an event where he signed a bill blocking California’s rule prohibiting the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, held in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Washington (Photo by Alex Brandon/AP).

President Trump has sent nearly 4,000 National Guard members along with 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, surpassing the legal restrictions on military involvement in enforcing domestic laws within American cities.

California Governor Gavin Newsom plans to challenge this action legally. The state has filed a lawsuit stating, “President Trump has repeatedly used emergency powers to stretch beyond the legal limits of executive authority.”

“On Saturday, June 7, he used a protest that local authorities had under control to make another unprecedented power grab, this time at the cost of the sovereignty of the state of California and in disregard of the authority and role of the Governor as commander-in-chief of the state’s National Guard,” says the complaint, which was filed in federal court.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer agreed. Breyer, a Bill Clinton appointee who also happens to be the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, declared that Trump’s “actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” and ordered control of the National Guard returned to Newsom. The order was supposed to take effect Friday at noon, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court granted an administrative stay late Thursday night, pausing — at least temporarily — Breyer’s order.

What this lawsuit comes down to is the Insurrection Act versus the Posse Comitatus Act. One act is more than 200 years old and the other, nearly a century and a half.

The Insurrection Act, passed in 1807, authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the United States to suppress rebellion, invasion or to enforce federal law in certain situations. The Posse Comitatus Act, passed in 1878, was put in place to ensure that the federal military would not be used to intervene in the establishment of Jim Crow laws in the former Confederacy after Reconstruction. The overarching principle of the Act is to prevent the military from interfering in the affairs of civilian government.

When it comes to the Insurrection Act, troops can be deployed under several sections of the law. The statute’s requirements are not clearly defined, leaving some aspects of the law to the discretion of the president. One provision provides that the president can send in troops at a governor’s request. A second provision provides the president with the authority to deploy troops to “enforce the laws” of the United States or to “suppress rebellion” whenever unlawful obstructions make it difficult to enforce federal law — even against the state’s wishes.

A third provision provides if anyone in a state is being deprived of a constitutional right and state authorities are unable or unwilling to protect that right — think Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy following Brown v. Board of Education — the president can deploy troops.

“He [Trump] is declaring utterly bogus emergencies for the sake of trying to expand his power, undermine the Constitution and destroy civil liberties,” Ilya Somin, a libertarian professor at Antonin Scalia Law School, told the New York Times.

Now let’s juxtapose the Insurrection Act with the Posse Comitatus Act. The Posse Comitatus Act consists of just one sentence: “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Chilling Clues Unveiled: Witnesses Report Suspicious Activity at Kada Scott Crime Scene

A man charged with kidnapping a Pennsylvania woman, who was tragically found…

Vigilantes Detained: Deputies Intervene After Community Takes Action Against Predator

Background: A man collapses and hits his head after several men reportedly…

Unveiling the High-Stakes Poker Scandal: How Criminals Rigged Games Involving Mob Ties and NBA Stars

The con tactics revealed in this case are as timeless as the…

Authorities Launch Search for Suspect in War Memorial Vandalism Incident

Sydney’s police force is currently on the hunt for an unidentified individual…

Tragic Airbnb Fire Highlights Critical Need for Smoke Detectors, Lawsuit Claims

Inset: Stephen Kuehl, his wife Stella Kuehl and their three children (GoFundMe).…

Tragic Oversight: Father Neglects Toddler for Video Games, Resulting in Heartbreaking Car Death

Inset: Christopher Scholtes (Pima County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The scene outside the…

Tragic Collision: Three High School Football Stars Killed as Racing Sisters Cause Fatal Crash

A courtroom appearance on Wednesday marked the next chapter for one of…

Tragic Family Murder-Suicide: Investigating the Chilling Case of a Grandfather’s Fatal Decision

Background: The Pima, Ariz., home where four family members were found dead…

Tragic House Fire Leads to Shocking Murder and Arson Charges Against Woman

Warning: This article contains the name and image of a deceased Indigenous…

Teen Charged Following Double Stabbing in Melbourne Train Station Brawl: Afternoon Chaos Unfolds

One teenager has been charged others are on the run after a…

Man Detained for Playing Darth Vader’s Theme Near Military Personnel Files Lawsuit

FILE – People talk with National Guard soldiers on the Ellipse, with…

Unveiling Epstein’s Dark Secrets: The Untold Story of His Power-Play and the Elusive Client List

In her memoir “Nobody’s Girl,” published posthumously, Virginia Giuffre reveals unsettling claims…