Posse Comitatus Act at center of Trump-Newsom National Guard dispute in LA

President Donald Trump and California Gov Gavin Newsom are clashing over the deployment of the National Guard amid ongoing Los Angeles riots with different interpretations of the law that governs the use of the military to enforce the law domestically The Posse Comitatus Act was signed into law by President Rutherford B Hayes amid concerns that the military had too much sway over civilian affairs during Reconstruction It generally bars the use of the U S military for civilian law enforcement inside the country but there are key exceptions Trump deployed the National Guard early Sunday but so far those troops have not participated in any direct law enforcement JOHNSON SAYS HEGSETH POSSIBLY SENDING MARINES TO ANTI-ICE RIOTS NOT HEAVY-HANDED 'DETERRING EFFECT'Trump sent in the National Guard after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were reportedly attacked on the streets of L A as they conducted raids to catch and deport illegal immigrants Seeing that neither Newsom nor L A Mayor Karen Bass were moving aggressively enough to stop the attacks Trump signed a presidential memorandum to deploy National Guard troops to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester the White House reported in a comment Newsom objected promptly even as the riots spiraled I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command Newsom wrote on X on Sunday alongside his letter to President Trump We didn t have a obstacle until Trump got involved This is a serious breach of state sovereignty inflaming tensions while pulling materials from where they re really needed In addition to the Guard the Pentagon mentioned Sunday night it stands ready to send in active-duty Marines If the military is to take an developing role in suppressing the riots the -year-old law will take center stage Exceptions to the Posse Comitatus Act that allow the military to enforce the law against U S citizens include congressional decree if an insurrection has been declared under the Insurrection Act or when state governments prove unable or unwilling to impose law and order