California Governor Gavin Newsom said he will file a lawsuit against President Donald Trump over the federal deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles without state approval, calling the action "an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act."
In interviews aired Sunday and Monday, Newsom repeatedly criticized Trump's move, saying it violated Department of Defense protocol requiring coordination with state leadership. "It specifically notes - and under what the [Department of Defense] did - is they had to coordinate with the governor of the state. They never coordinated with the governor of the state," Newsom told MSNBC.
Newsom added that the lawsuit would test Trump's authority to override California's control of its National Guard. "And we're going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow," he said.
The standoff followed a federal order dispatching troops to Los Angeles in response to escalating protests, which erupted after a wave of federal immigration raids in the city. Tensions between demonstrators and police grew over the weekend, as National Guard units arrived Sunday without backing from either the governor or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Bass criticized the federal action Sunday night on social media, writing, "Angelenos - don't engage in violence and chaos. Don't give the administration what they want." She said the situation had been under control until federal intervention triggered a "chaotic escalation."
Newsom also accused Trump of fabricating claims about warning him in advance. "Stone-cold liar. Stone-cold liar. Stone-cold liar. He made that up, like he makes up so many other things. He never said that," Newsom said during a Fox interview Monday, responding to questions about whether Trump had informed him of the National Guard deployment.
"He is not the same person that I dealt with four years ago," Newsom added. "They weren't even deployed and he claimed victory, he's lost it. He's lost his step and I saw him trip on the steps today."
The governor also referenced a Friday night call with Trump that he said lasted nearly 20 minutes but included no mention of the Guard. "We talked for almost 20 minutes and he barely, this issue never came up," Newsom said on MSNBC. "I tried to talk about L.A., he wanted to talk about all these other issues. We had a very decent conversation."
"He never once brought up the National Guard. He's a stone-cold liar," he said. "He said he did. Stone. Cold. Liar. Never did."
Newsom contended that California has deployed its National Guard previously under mutual aid agreements and said he would have worked with the federal government if invited to coordinate. "We have no problem, working collaboratively in a mutual aid system with local law enforcement. But there's a protocol, there's a process. He didn't care about that," he said. "And the worst part, he completely lied."
The White House did not respond to media requests for comment, while Trump amplified his rhetoric throughout the day on Truth Social, labeling the demonstrators "insurrectionists" and accusing state and city leaders of failing to protect Los Angeles. "Liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion," Trump posted, demanding Newsom and Bass "apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done."
In a separate message, Newsom posted on X: "This is a serious breach of state sovereignty - inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed."
