Overview

• A three-day bench trial in San Francisco examined whether President Trump’s June federalization of California National Guard troops for immigration-related operations violated the Posse Comitatus Act.
• Judge Charles Breyer repeatedly pressed Justice Department attorneys on the absence of clear statutory or constitutional guardrails and questioned what remedies would exist if the act applied.
• The Justice Department argued the troops were serving a protective role under presidential authority to deploy state guards in emergencies rather than conducting domestic law enforcement.
• The Ninth Circuit has stayed Breyer’s earlier injunction, allowing roughly 250 to 300 federalized guardsmen to remain active in Los Angeles pending the district court’s written decision.
• Breyer’s forthcoming opinion, expected soon and likely to be appealed, could set a precedent on presidential power to use military forces within U.S. cities.