A lone federal judge has just confronted the immense power of the presidency. In a ruling with profound constitutional implications for the entire nation, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has declared President Trump’s use of federalized military forces on the streets of California to be unlawful.
This decision is more than a victory for the state of California in its battle with the White House. It is a powerful and necessary lesson in one of the oldest and most important legal firewalls in our republic – the law that separates our soldiers from our police, and protects the states from the might of the federal military.
A “National Police Force with the President as its Chief”
The case revolved around the President’s decision in June to federalize thousands of California National Guard members and deploy them, along with U.S. Marines, to support federal immigration raids. This action was taken over the vehement objections of California’s governor.
In his ruling, Judge Breyer did not mince words. He warned that the administration’s legal theory – that it has broad authority to use the military for domestic purposes – would lead to “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.” This, he argued, is a direct threat to our constitutional order.
The Constitutional Firewall: The Posse Comitatus Act
At the heart of Judge Breyer’s ruling is a law that is a cornerstone of American liberty: the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.
This law was passed by Congress after the trauma of the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, a period when the U.S. Army was used to occupy the former Confederate states and enforce federal policy.
The Act explicitly forbids the use of the U.S. Army and Air Force for domestic civilian law enforcement, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress. It is the legal and moral line that separates our military from our police.
The “Break Glass in Case of Emergency” Exception
The primary exception to this rule is the Insurrection Act of 1807. This is the constitutional “nuclear option” that allows a president to deploy troops domestically to suppress an actual rebellion or if a state is utterly unable or unwilling to enforce federal law and protect its citizens’ rights.
The Trump administration argued that the Posse Comitatus Act was not applicable in this case. Judge Breyer’s ruling is a clear and forceful rejection of that claim. He has affirmed that the protests in California, however disruptive, do not meet the incredibly high legal standard of an “insurrection” that would justify bypassing this fundamental law.
While this ruling may have minimal immediate impact on the ground – as most of the troops have since been demobilized – its constitutional significance is enormous. Judge Breyer has drawn a clear and necessary line in the sand. He has reaffirmed a foundational principle of the American republic: that our military is to be used against foreign adversaries, not against our own citizens. This case is a powerful reminder from the judiciary that even a President, in his role as Commander-in-Chief, is still bound by the laws and the Constitution.