National Security Leaders for America Files Amicus Brief in Ninth Circuit Opposing Federalization of California National Guard

September 11, 2025

Washington, DC, National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A) announced today that it has filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s challenge to the federalization of the California National Guard. 

The brief, filed by NSL4A’s counsel at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, underscores the historic and legal limits on the President’s authority to seize control of state National Guard units without a governor’s consent. At issue is the President’s June 7, 2025, order to federalize and deploy 4,000 California Guard members to Los Angeles under 10 U.S.C. § 12406, despite Governor Newsom’s determination that local police forces were sufficient to maintain order. 

“History and law are clear: the President may only federalize the Guard under extraordinary circumstances—an invasion, a rebellion, or a demonstrable inability of regular forces to enforce the law,” said retired Rear Admiral Mike Smith, founder and President of NSL4A, adding, “Those conditions were not met in Los Angeles. The President cannot simply assert his own judgment; he must prove necessity. That safeguard exists to prevent exactly this kind of misuse.” 

Drawing on the military expertise of its members, including former Guard commanders, NSL4A warned that federalizing the Guard without justification undermines its readiness, diverts critical resources from state emergencies such as wildfires and drug interdiction, and risks politicizing a community-based force that depends on public trust. The brief also notes that past federalizations against governors’ wishes—such as during the Civil Rights era—were narrowly tailored to enforce federal court orders and protect constitutional rights, circumstances absent here. 

“Deployments like this strain Guard families and employers, degrade training, and erode morale,” said retired Brigadier General J. Thomas King, Jr., whose declaration accompanied the filing. “They jeopardize the Guard’s readiness to accomplish state missions, and compromise the ability to achieve success on the battlefield .”

NSL4A urged the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court’s ruling and reject the unlawful federalization. “Our democracy depends on civilian institutions and clear limits on executive power,” Smith stated. “The National Guard must never be used as a political tool.”