Gavin Newsom threatens lawsuit over National Guard deployment; White House calls him ‘too weak’

The clash escalated Monday between the White House and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.

Mr. Newsom said he is suing the Trump administration, claiming President Trump illegally federalized 2,000 members of the state’s National Guard, a move he called unprecedented.

“He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard,” Mr. Newsom wrote on X. “The order he signed doesn’t just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY State and do the same thing. We’re suing him.”

In response, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr. Newsom was an ineffective leader who looked the other way while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were attacked.

“Gavin Newsom did nothing as violent riots erupted in Los Angeles for days. Federal law enforcement officers were attacked by violent radicals and illegal criminals waving foreign flags because Gov. Newsom was too weak to protect the city. The Los Angeles Police Chief even said the riots were getting out of hand,” she wrote on X.

“President Trump has stepped in to maintain law and order and protect federal buildings,” she said. 

The lawsuit threat comes after a Sunday evening interview with MSNBC in which he questioned Mr. Trump’s authority to mobilize a state National Guard. He told the network that the law Mr. Trump cited to deploy the national guard requires coordinating with a state governor before deployment, and he said that the White House never coordinated with him.

“He’s, you know, lit the proverbial match. He’s putting fuel on this fire, ever since he announced he was taking over the National Guard — an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act,” Mr. Newsom said. 

In his order calling up members of the California National Guard into federal service, Mr. Trump cited Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which gives presidents the authority to mobilize state armed services. A provision of Title 10 allows a president to deploy National Guard units into federal service if the U.S. is invaded, there is a “rebellion or danger of rebellion,” or the president is “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.”

Critics of the president argue that the protests do not rise to the level of “rebellion” or prevent the federal government from executing the laws of the United States.

A separate law from 1879, known as the Posse Comitatus Act, forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. That means the National Guard cannot arrest protesters, but can protect ICE agents carrying out arrests.