California Governor Gavin Newsom claims ‘Trump is not a king’ after crucial National Guard control case

California governor attempts to spin court ruling as a win despite losing battle to regain control of troops deployed to Los Angeles

Constitutional law attorney Jonathan Turley weighs in ahead of a court battle over President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles and discusses the extended block on Trump’s ban on foreign students at Harvard.

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Governor Gavin Newsom said in an official statement that he is disappointed in the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision to allow President Trump to retain control of the California National Guard, but is touting one aspect of the court ruling as a victory.

Writing on X early Friday morning, the Democratic governor proclaimed that Trump is “not a king and not above the law.”

“The court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court. The President is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens,” he went on to say in a press statement later.

Newsom and Trump face off (Pool)

JUDGE MULLS TRUMP’S AUTHORITY OVER NATIONAL GUARD, WARNS US IS NOT ‘KING GEORGE’ MONARCHY

The court rejected Trump’s claims that he can federalize the California National Guard at will and still avoid judicial scrutiny, the governor noted.

“The Ninth Circuit rejected Trump’s sweeping claim that he can federalize the National Guard for any reason and avoid judicial scrutiny, even as it stayed an emergency district court order. This is a critical check on presidential overreach and confirmation that the President is not above the law,” Newsom’s press office stated.

Newsom’s office said that both Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta remain committed to holding the president accountable for using the military as domestic law enforcement – actions, they argued, were in violation of federal law.

Although Newsom says the ruling is a win, there is still an ongoing conflict as the unanimous ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday allowed President Trump to keep control of National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles earlier this month to quell riots during demonstrations against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

U.S. National Guard members are deployed around downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following an immigration raid protest the night before.  (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

TRUMP SCORES MAJOR WIN AGAINST NEWSOM IN BATTLE FOR NATIONAL GUARD CONTROL

Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard was the first by a president of a state National Guard without the governor’s permission since 1965.

L-R: California Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. President Donald Trump.  (Getty Images)

In the filing, the court stated that they believed the president had made a lawful decision.

Even though the president failed to notify the governor before deploying the National Guard as required by law, the court cited that Newsom had no power to veto the president’s order.