Newsom vs. Trump: National Guard LA deployment takes stage again

Today marks the first day of a planned three-day trial to determine whether the U.S. military unlawfully carried out civilian law enforcement when it was deployed to Los Angeles under President Donald Trump.

As CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn explains, a California federal district court will take up the matter, which stems from a June lawsuit Gov. Gavin Newsom filed against Trump after the president federalized California’s National Guard in response to demonstrators protesting against immigration raids in L.A. 

Lawyers for the state argue that the military violated a federal law that limits the use of the military in civilian settings. They point out that if the military can accompany immigration enforcement agents in their raids, it sets a precedent that authorizes it to accompany other law enforcement agents while they perform their duties, such as federal food safety inspectors.

The Trump administration says what the military did in L.A. doesn’t count as law enforcement. And because the law limiting military engagement is also a criminal statute, it cannot be invoked by the state since this lawsuit is a civil case.

Read more here.

Speaking of Trump: 

• Feds request lift on immigration raids ban: The Trump administration is seeking help from the U.S. Supreme Court by asking it to lift a temporary restraining order, issued by a district court in July, that blocks immigration enforcement agents from conducting raids without “reasonable suspicion” in L.A. and other California counties. In its emergency appeal filed last week, the federal government said that the order is a major barrier to enforcing federal immigration laws. Read more from CalMatters’ Wendy Fry and Sergio Olmos.

• Redistricting battle: Newsom on Friday gathered with Democratic lawmakers from Texas in Sacramento to again promote his plan to redraw California’s congressional maps. To counteract Texas Republicans’ plans to redistrict its maps in a way that benefits the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections, Newsom is proposing to call a special election to allow California voters to approve or reject a new map that would strengthen the chances of Democrats flipping Republican-leaning districts. The state Legislature is expected to take up the issue when it reconvenes from summer break on Aug. 18. Read more from CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff.

CalMatters’ Alexei brings you up to speed on the 2026 gubernatorial election:

• Atkins’ conflicts of interest?: Former state Senate leader and current gubernatorial candidate Toni Atkins is married to the owner of a consulting firm, LeSar Development Consultants. Nearly half of the firm’s major clients last year employed lobbyists to influence government policy, and a state agency has hired the firm through 2028 to help California develop properties for affordable housing. Under California’s conflict of interest rules, however, these contracts can be seen as problematic: Atkins has equal ownership of her spouse’s assets through marriage, meaning that she earns hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from entities that could soon be vying for her sway if she is elected governor next year. Read more here.

• Kounalakis drops out: When Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis announced her bid for the state’s highest office more than two years ago, she was one of the most high-profile candidates to first jump into the race. But more than a week after former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared to endorse Kounalakis, the lieutenant governor said she is dropping out and will run for state treasurer instead. Read more here.

Some international students attending college in California are living in fear and censoring themselves as the threat of deportation looms under the Trump administration, writes Emewodesh Eshete of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network.

As part of his effort to cut back on immigration and combat alleged antisemitism, Trump issued an executive order in January that resulted in hundreds of international students losing their student status. Though many had their statuses reinstated in April after challenging the order in court, some international students in California are afraid that it will happen again. 

Some told Emewodesh that they have changed their involvement in campus activities, revised the topics they include in their research projects and scrubbed their social media presence.

Campus institutions are also responding to the chilling effect: The editor-in-chief of UC Davis’ student newspaper, for instance, said the outlet is more open to removing articles for the sake of protecting the status of international students.

Read more here.

Invasive golden mussels are spreading in California lakes and reservoirs, clogging pipes and damaging infrastructure. CalMatters’ Rachel Becker and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on how officials are working to stop their advancement as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.