Fact check: Can governor Newsome recall the national guard and defy president trump

1. Summary of the results

Based on the most recent court rulings, Governor Newsom cannot currently recall the National Guard and defy President Trump. A federal appeals court ruled on June 19, 2025, that President Trump can maintain control over California National Guard troops, rejecting Governor Newsom's attempt to regain control ^{[1] [2]}. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Trump to retain control of the National Guard in Los Angeles, overturning a lower court decision that had initially ruled Trump acted illegally and ordered him to return control to Governor Newsom ^[3].

The Trump administration successfully argued that the President has statutory authority to federalize the National Guard under federal law, and the appeals court agreed with this position ^[4]. This means that despite Governor Newsom's legal challenges, the federal courts have determined that Trump's deployment of the National Guard is lawful, preventing Newsom from recalling the troops.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several crucial pieces of context:

• Governor Newsom has been actively fighting this decision through the courts - he filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration arguing that the president lacks constitutional authority to call in the National Guard ^[5]. Newsom has vowed to continue fighting the federal court's decision ^[6].
• The legal battle is ongoing - while the appeals court ruled in Trump's favor, the decision is being appealed, suggesting this may not be the final word on the matter ^[7].
• The appeals court rejected Trump's claim of absolute authority - while allowing Trump to retain control, the Ninth Circuit also limited Trump's authority, indicating that presidential power over the National Guard is not unlimited ^[6].
• There are constitutional questions about the circumstances - the president has power to federalize the National Guard under certain circumstances, but it remains unclear whether the current situation meets those specific criteria ^[8].

Political stakeholders who benefit from each viewpoint include:

• Trump and federal Republicans benefit from establishing broad presidential authority over state National Guard units
• Newsom and state Democrats benefit from maintaining state control over their own National Guard forces and limiting federal overreach

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains an implicit assumption that may be misleading - it suggests that a governor's ability to "defy" a president is simply a matter of political will rather than legal authority. The question fails to acknowledge that this is fundamentally a legal and constitutional matter that has been decided by federal courts ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

The framing of "defying President Trump" also carries political connotations that obscure the actual legal dispute, which centers on the proper interpretation of federal statutes governing National Guard deployment rather than personal or political defiance ^{[4] [8]}.