California Governor Gavin Newsom has had a dramatic week. A series of brutal and invasive ICE raids saw Los Angeles citizens erupt in protest, giving Donald Trump the excuse to send in first thousands of National Guard soldiers, then hundreds of Marines. They were supposedly there to “keep the peace”, though to Californians they felt more like an invading army.
Newsom quickly launched a legal challenge against Trump sending the troops in and while he was initially stymied, he has now triumphed. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer conclusively ruled that Trump’s military actions against California are illegal, concluding that the protests fall “far short of rebellion”.
For the embattled Newsom this is a rare moment to exhale. He’s been squarely in the MAGA crosshairs, with Trump going so far as to call for his arrest and detainment. Now it’s time for him to strike back, and he has vowed that Trump “will be relieved of his command at noon”.
The courts have ruled.
The Guard will be back under my command — and Donald Trump will be relieved of his command at noon tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/ZV3eC6MZ9u
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 13, 2025
“The founding fathers did not live and die to see that happen in this country for no reason whatsoever than vanity, theater, to instill fear, to incite a response, so I’m very hopeful this order puts that in perspective and hopefully Donald Trump will immediately back down. The courts have ruled on the Guard. They will be back under my command and he’ll be relieved, Donald Trump will be relieved of his command at noon tomorrow.”
Can he take command?
Naturally, the Trump regime is fighting this tooth and nail. They’ve already appealed Judge Breyer’s ruling, which is now stayed until 3 pm PDT today. And, frankly, even if a series of judges ruled that Trump’s actions in California are illegal and that command of the troops must revert to Newsom, I’m skeptical whether it would actually happen.
After all, judges’ ruling or not, Trump is the Commander-in-Chief. If he explicitly orders the troops to remain under his command and to disregard any judicial interference, then who’s going to stand in his way and enforce a court order? Whatever the case, as we go into the extravagant weekend planned for Trump’s birthday, we expect to see even firmer crackdowns on liberty and counter-MAGA ideology to cement the Trump regime’s power over the United States.
So, while Newsom is talking a big talk, if it actually came time for him to assert control over the National Guard in Calfornia, we have serious doubts about whether they’d listen to him.
