A legal battle is unfolding after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard in California without a request from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The Guard was deployed amid protests over the administration’s immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles and other cities, with some instances of violent actions against police.
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WATCH HEREIn response, Trump called for protesters to be arrested and deployed members of the Guard without a request from Newsom, something that hadn’t happened in the U.S. in decades.
Demonstrators spent the weekend rallying against the Trump administration’s ongoing ICE raids that have resulted in hundreds of arrests per day, including many of individuals who had been summoned to status hearings to continue staying in the United States.
The controversy culminated with Trump ordering the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members into Los Angeles to respond to the ongoing protests, some of which were marred by acts of violence toward police officers.
According to the order, National Guard members were assigned to protect federal personnel and property in the Los Angeles area.
In addition, hundreds of U.S. Marines were deployed to help support the National Guard in that mission, according to the U.S. Northern Command.
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The order to deploy the National Guard was made in opposition to the wishes of Newsom, who has asked for the order to be rescinded and has taken legal action against the Trump administration.
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SIGN UP "The level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented -- mobilizing the best in class branch of the U.S. military against its own citizens," Newsom's press office said on X.
In a post Monday on his social media site, Trump defended the actions, saying Los Angeles would have been "completely obliterated" if he hadn’t acted.
So what is the difference between the National Guard and the U.S. military, who has the authority to deploy them, and what comes next? Here’s what we know.
What is the difference between the National Guard and other military units?
The branches of the U.S. military, including the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Space Force, are under the direction of the federal government and can be deployed at any time.
The National Guard, while federally funded, is organized and controlled by the states, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. They can be federalized and deployed during times of war, according to the VA.
Who makes the decision to deploy the National Guard?
In most non-wartime cases, a state’s governor makes the decision to deploy National Guard members, typically in response to a natural disaster or other emergency that requires additional support for local officials.
Generally, federal troops cannot participate in civilian law enforcement actions thanks to the Posse Comitatus Act, which was passed in the 19th century under the administration of President Rutherford B. Hayes.
There are limited circumstances in which exceptions are made to the idea of using military in domestic matters, including the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy forces inside of the United States to “suppress rebellion or domestic violence, or to enforce the law in certain situations,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Trump’s order instead invoked a clause in U.S. code which allows for federal deployment of National Guard forces if “there is a rebellion or danger of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States,” according to Cornell’s law school.
How unusual is it for a president to deploy the National Guard without a governor’s request?
Given the limited avenues the president has to deploy the National Guard without seeking approval from a state’s governor, such instances have been rare in modern times.
According to the Associated Press, the last time the Guard was deployed without a request was in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson deployed troops to protect civil rights marchers as they moved from Selma to Montgomery.
In that instance, Johnson invoked the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to use military force to suppress rebellion or domestic violence.
The Guard was also deployed using the Insurrection Act in 1992 when President George H.W. Bush used troops to help calm riots after acquittals in the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles. In that situation however, Gov. Pete Wilson had requested the activation.
What was the reaction of California officials?
Newsom has already requested that the order to deploy the National Guard be rescinded, and his attorney general has filed suit against the Trump administration for their order.
Rather than doing so, the Trump administration has doubled down, mobilizing approximately 700 U.S. Marines to protect federal property in Los Angeles.
Could the Guard be deployed in Illinois?
Given that Illinois has so-called “sanctuary” laws on its books and has been a frequent target of the Trump administration, could National Guard troops be deployed here?
Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, speaking to reporters during a protest at Daley Plaza Monday, said he does not believe National Guard troops would be called to Chicago since protests have been peaceful in the city and not nearly at the scale of demonstrations in Los Angeles.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker co-signed a statement by other Democratic governors criticizing the move.
“We stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation,” the statement read, in part, according to Politico.
Pritzker is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill this week about the state’s immigration policies, which have drawn federal scrutiny despite being upheld by courts in previous cases.
