Ninth Circuit Court Says Trump Can Deploy National Guard But Hurdles

Leo Migdal

-Nov 21, 2025, 7:03 AM

ninth circuit court says trump can deploy national guard but hurdles

Today a panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 that the Trump administration can deploy the National Guard to Portland. "Thus, considering the totality of the circumstances from June through September, and applying the required highly deferential standard of review, we conclude that the President's assessment of the situation in Portland—specifically, the threat to... Circuit judges Ryan D. Nelson and Bridget S. Bade ruled in favor of the majority.

Circuit judge Susan P. Graber dissented. She wrote: "Given Portland protesters' well-known penchant for wearing chicken suits, inflatable frog costumes, or nothing at all when expressing their disagreement with the methods employed by ICE, observers may be tempted to view the majority's... But today's decision is not merely absurd. It erodes core constitutional principles, including sovereign States' control over their States' militias and the people's First Amendment rights to assemble and to object to the government's policies and actions.

I strenuously dissent." The Ninth Circuit has granted a stay on the TRO blocking Trump’s National Guard deployment to Los Angeles. Read the full court ruling and explore our expert breakdown with annotated highlights. In a major escalation of the legal battle between California and the federal government, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a stay on the temporary restraining order that had blocked President Trump’s... The ruling, issued on June 19th, 2025, allows the deployment to continue while the case proceeds—and gives the President sweeping deference under a rarely tested statute, 10 U.S.C. § 12406.

This article includes a full downloadable copy of the court’s published ruling—plus an annotated breakdown that explains what the court actually said, what it didn’t, and why it matters more than the headlines suggest. We’ve obtained the complete 38-page decision issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on June 19, 2025, in the case of Newsom v. Trump. Continue reading for our breakdown of the ruling’s most important sections, including the statute the court relied on, the level of deference granted to the President, and what this means for California’s challenge going... This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

Three of the country’s most powerful judges met in Pasadena on Wednesday for a rare conclave that could rewrite the legal framework for President Trump’s expansive deployment of troops to cities across the United... The move to flood Los Angeles with thousands of federalized soldiers over the objection of state and local leaders shocked the country back in June. Five months later, such military interventions have become almost routine. But whether the deployments can expand — and how long they can continue — relies on a novel reading of an obscure subsection of the U.S. code that determines the president’s ability to dispatch the National Guard and federal service members. That code has been under heated debate in courts across the country.

Virtually all of those cases have turned on the 9th Circuit’s decision in June. The judges found that the law in question requires “a great level of deference” to the president to decide when protest flashes into rebellion, and whether boots on the ground are warranted in response. Federal enforcement officers stand guard near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 6. Ethan Swope/AP hide caption A divided federal appeals court for the 9th Circuit on Monday overturned a temporary restraining order put in place by a federal judge in Portland — removing a legal impediment that was preventing the...

"After considering the record at this preliminary stage, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority,'" the majority wrote in its decision. It's unclear what impact this ruling will immediately have on the ground. The 9th Circuit's decision applies to only one of the two temporary restraining orders that U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued this month blocking the deployment. "Right now, until the district court acts on the second TRO, national guard members from Oregon, or any other state cannot deploy," Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement.

FILE – President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen to California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File). While rejecting the DOJ's argument that a president can call up militia and never be second-guessed by the courts, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday nonetheless granted the Trump administration an emergency stay pending appeal, concluding it was "likely" at this stage that President Donald Trump "lawfully" deployed California's National Guard to "protect...

In the per curiam decision, U.S. Circuit Judges Mark Bennett and Eric Miller, both Trump appointees, and Jennifer Sung, a Joe Biden appointee, sided against Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and disagreed with U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer's analysis that the state was likely to succeed on claims the president exceeded his statutory authority and violated the 10th Amendment. Writing that the Trump administration made a "strong showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their appeal," the 9th Circuit stayed Breyer's temporary restraining order on an emergency basis. "Notably, Plaintiffs conceded that National Guard members, if validly federalized, may be deployed to protect federal personnel and property," the court said.

"The district court determined that Plaintiffs presented no evidence at the TRO hearing that National Guard members were engaged in any other activities, and Plaintiffs do not contest that determination." Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy discusses the legal challenges to the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard troops to American cities on 'The Sunday Briefing.' The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that President Donald Trump can deploy Oregon National Guard troops into the city of Portland, delivering a significant victory to the Trump administration as it continues its... Judges on the three-member panel ruled 2-1 to authorize Trump's deployment. Judge Ryan Nelson and Judge Bridget Bade, both appointed by Trump, sided with the administration in the majority ruling, with the lone Clinton-appointed judge, Susan Graber, dissented.

"After considering the record at this preliminary stage, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority under 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3), which authorizes the federalization of the National Guard when ‘the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States,’" the majority said. The move has become a political flashpoint as protesters opposing his key policies have clashed with law enforcement. Oregon officials and civil liberties groups say the administration is exaggerating the threat, while Trump allies insist the Guard is needed to restore order. The court overturned an order preventing the deployment. An appeals court on Monday overturned a temporary restraining order that prevented the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard to Portland, Oregon.

The ruling by a panel of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges allows the Trump administration to deploy Oregon National Guard troops in the state. A broader order that prohibits any state's National Guard from deploying into Portland remains in effect. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield decried Monday's ruling, saying the panel of Ninth Circuit judges "has chosen to not hold the president accountable." President Donald Trump can maintain control of the California National Guard, a federal appeals court has ruled, overturning an earlier decision that found the President’s mobilization of the troops was “illegal.” The ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is temporary, but allows the President to continue directing the thousands of National Guard members he has deployed to Los Angeles to quell multi-day protests... Their deployment was subject to a lawsuit filed by California Gov.

Gavin Newsom, who argued the President violated the Tenth Amendment, which lays out the powers of state and the federal government. Seven hundred Marines have also been sent to L.A. The unanimous opinion, delivered by a three-panel judge panel made up of two Trump appointees and another appointed by President Joe Biden, reversed a lower court decision that found Trump did not satisfy the... Read more: Can the President Activate a State’s National Guard? Trump celebrated the appeals court’s ruling on his social media platform, Truth Social. “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...

Ninth Circuit Court Says Trump Can Deploy National Guard But Hurdles

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