Posse-Comitatus

Ninth Circuit Forces Trump to Return California National Guard Control to State

| Importance: 8/10

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration must return control of the California National Guard to the state. President Trump announced that day he would withdraw National Guard troops from Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago. The federal government backed down after …

Donald Trump Gavin Newsom Charles Breyer national-guard federalism judicial-intervention posse-comitatus executive-overreach
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Supreme Court to Review Trump's Federalization of National Guard in Chicago, Nationwide Implications

| Importance: 10/10

On October 29, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court took the rare step of requesting additional briefing in a high-profile emergency case challenging President Trump’s federalization of the National Guard in Chicago for immigration enforcement, signaling the Court is grappling with fundamental …

April Perry Donald Trump JB Pritzker Supreme Court chicago constitutional-crisis federalism federalization militarization +5 more
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2,300 Armed National Guard Troops Deploy in Washington DC Carrying M17 Pistols and M4 Rifles

| Importance: 9/10

Over 2,300 National Guard troops from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana, and Tennessee began patrolling Washington DC streets carrying M17 handguns and M4 semiautomatic rifles, marking an unprecedented militarization of the nation’s capital during peacetime. The armed …

Trump National Guard Department of Defense militarization posse-comitatus national-guard authoritarian-infrastructure civil-liberties
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Brookings warns on legal limits of putting soldiers on Los Angeles streets

| Importance: 6/10

Brookings June 26, 2025, analysis warned Trump’s deployment of 700 Marines and 4,000 federalized National Guard to LA violates Posse Comitatus Act. Trump invoked 10 USC §12406 (not Insurrection Act) claiming “inherent constitutional authority” to protect federal property. …

Brookings Institution Legal scholars Department of Defense Department of Homeland Security Trump Administration analysis civil-military insurrection-act posse-comitatus legal-analysis +2 more
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Federal judge says Los Angeles Guard/Marine deployment likely unlawful

| Importance: 6/10

A federal district judge in Northern California ruled on June 12, 2025, that the Trump administration’s federalization of California National Guard and deployment of 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles likely violated the Posse Comitatus Act and principles of federalism. The judge found the …

U.S. District Court State of California Governor Gavin Newsom Department of Defense 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines +2 more civil-military courts emergency-powers posse-comitatus federalism +2 more
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First Major Court Battle Over National Guard Deployment Authority

| Importance: 9/10

Federal District Court in D.C. issued a landmark ruling challenging Trump administration’s unilateral National Guard deployment powers. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act by sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles for immigration …

Federal District Court Department of Defense State Governors Donald Trump 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals +5 more national-guard military-authority constitutional-interpretation executive-power judicial-review +2 more
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