California Attorney General Rob Bonta has responded to the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw its legal challenge against a U.S. District Court order that ended the federalization and deployment of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles. The move follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Illinois v. Trump, which limited presidential authority to federalize state National Guard units.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to halt the District Court’s preliminary injunction on the deployment, but the troops remained under federal command. With the administration’s withdrawal, command of these troops returns to Governor Gavin Newsom for the first time since their federalization in early June.
Attorney General Bonta commented on the development: “For six months, California National Guard troops have been used as political pawns by a President desperate to be king. From the political display in MacArthur Park to their unlawful participation in indiscriminate immigration raids, the militaristic deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles streets has left lasting scars in Angeleno communities. There is a reason our founders decided military and civilian affairs must be kept separate; a reason that our military is, by design, apolitical,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Now, in the face of a stinging rebuke by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump Administration is backing away from its efforts to federalize and deploy California National Guard troops. I’m incredibly proud of my team who worked nights and weekends to defend the Constitution and bring about an end of the President’s unlawful overreach of executive power. While our rule of law remains under threat, our democratic institutions are holding. My office is not backing down — and we’re ready for whatever fights lie ahead.”
The California Attorney General’s office acts as the state’s chief law enforcement authority within the executive branch, providing legal representation, criminal investigations, consumer protections, civil rights enforcement and advancing environmental justice initiatives statewide.
Rob Bonta leads this office and oversees its work across all regions of California. The agency was established in 1850 and has since evolved to address issues such as discrimination and centralized law enforcement efforts as California has grown.
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The main headquarters for the California Attorney General’s office is located in Sacramento.