Judge returns National Guard troops to California Gov

Donald Trump has new marching orders from a federal judge: Call off the troops.

“What makes America great is our Constitution,” U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer remarked during a hearing in which he repeatedly compared Trump’s actions to that of a monarch.

[...]

“At this early stage of the proceedings, the Court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions. He did not,” Breyer wrote. “His actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”

The judge paused his order from taking effect until noon on Friday.

  Adam Klasfeld Substack

Why? Trump can do damage in one morning.

“They must be stopped, immediately,” Newsom wrote in an application on Tuesday, seeking immediate relief within hours of their application.

But Judge Breyer scheduled a hearing for Thursday, saying in court today that the matter called for urgency and deliberation.

Exactly. So why the two+ day delay?

Trump claimed to have the authority to deploy the troops through 10 U.S. Code § 12406, even though that statute requires a “rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States” — and cooperation with the governor. “Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the states,” the law says.

The judge emphasized: “It says ‘shall.’ Not ‘may.’ Not ‘might.’”

[...]

The Justice Department’s attorney Brett Shumate argued that Trump’s rationale is unreviewable by judges, who cannot second-guess whether the president’s determinations pass muster with the statute.

WTF, asshat? That's exactly what judges do.

Summarizing that argument, Judge Breyer said: “If the president says that there’s a rebellion, then there is a rebellion.”

“How is that different from what a monarch is?” Breyer said. “We live in response to a monarchy.”

Hopefully, this will put a crimp on Trump's march to wield the Insurrection Act.

No Kings Day Saturday. Find your protest site.

UPDATE 08:57 pm:

UPDATE 06/13/2025:

June 17.  So, not that urgent after all, eh?

Expect ICE and the troops to get in their licks while they can.  The next few days could be especially volatile.

I wonder, will they make aggressive moves on the No Kings protestors Saturday, or will they be ordered to "stand back and stand by" so as not to pull news from Trump's birthday parade?