Was a federal appeals court right to rule that President Trump exceeded his authority by federalizing California's National Guard?
A 9th Circuit Court panel ruled 2-1 on October 23, 2026 that President Trump's June 2025 federalization of about 4,000 California National Guard troops exceeded his statutory authority.
Unless and until a higher court says otherwise, it is a fact of law that he exceeded his authority.
Presidents love to do this and have usually gotten away with it; doesn't make it right, of course.
If you're voting "within his authority" — does that hold if a Democratic president federalized a red state's guard over the governor's objections?