The US president cannot simply send the National Guard or the Navy into a federal state. The order to deploy them must usually be issued by the state’s leadership itself. In California, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has explicitly rejected the deployment of federal troops and filed a lawsuit.And, pWhether he’s using the military against protesters in Los Angeles or ignoring clear orders from the courts: President Donald Trump is shaking the democratic foundations of the US.
By Carla BLEIKER
Tensions remain high in Los Angeles. Thousands have been demonstrating for days against the actions of US immigration authorities. The mayor’s overnight curfew on Wednesday evening has brought some peace and quiet, but there are no signs of easing. The National Guard, which US President Donald Trump deployed to Los Angeles on Saturday, is now backed by 700 Marines – a part of the US armed forces known as the rapid reaction force and an elite unit of the army.
According to a US military spokeswoman, soldiers are helping protect federal government buildings and employees, including those of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
People in Southern California have been protesting since Friday against the way ICE agents are raiding public spaces to find and deport immigrants who are in the country illegally. In some cases, masked ICE teams are arresting immigrants on the streets. It’s all part of the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies and now needs to be defended with the help of the military.
THE PRESIDENT AND HIS COMPETENCES
The US president cannot simply send the National Guard or the Navy into a federal state. The order to deploy them must usually be issued by the state’s leadership. In California, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has explicitly rejected the deployment of federal troops and filed a lawsuit. However, in special cases, the US president can send military units without notifying the relevant governor – if there is an ongoing rebellion in a state against the authority of the national government. This is stated in the Insurrection Act of 1807.
The military operation in California ordered by Trump is unusual because the autonomy of the 50 states is considered the highest value – which can be seen in the name of the country: “The United States of America”. Governor Newsom even considers it an abuse of power and warns that American democracy is at risk because of Trump’s actions. “California may only be the first, but it will not be the last,” Newsom said in a televised speech on Tuesday evening. “Other states will follow. Democracy will suffer.”
TRUMP CHALLENGES THE JUDGE
In the first five months of his second term, Trump has clashed with the country’s democratic institutions several times, such as over deportations he has carried out in defiance of clear court orders. In March, more than 250 suspected non-American terrorists were deported to El Salvador. Planes carrying migrants to a notorious prison in the Central American country took off despite a temporary stay on deportations ordered by a federal judge.
As with the military operation in Los Angeles, Trump relied on a law that is more than two centuries old. In this case, he invoked the Enemy Aliens Act of 1798. It allows the president to deport foreign nationals from “enemy nations” without waiting for the usual judicial process. The Trump administration claims that the deportees were terrorists from the Venezuelan “Tren de Aragua” gang and that the president’s action is therefore legally valid.
In fact, the judiciary is one of the three pillars of government in the US, along with the executive (president) and the legislative (Congress). The separation of powers between these three branches forms the basis of American democracy. Trump’s behavior seems to be weakening this separation. On the highest court in the United States, the Supreme Court, six of the nine justices are openly conservative. Three of them were appointed by Trump himself. These are good conditions for decisions that are in the president’s interest. For example, in the case of suspected terrorists, the Supreme Court ruled that deportation was legal.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE “PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY” IN THE USA?
What about Congress, the legislative branch? Trump has bypassed this since the beginning of his second term. Any president can issue executive orders that do not need to pass through the House of Representatives and the Senate, the two chambers of Congress. Trump has already issued a very large number of such orders: 161 in his second term so far (as of June 10, 2025). That is more than any president since World War II. Trump’s orders have far-reaching consequences, for example for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States or for global trade.
“Trump will definitely go down in history as someone who pushed the power of the executive branch to its limits,” Patrick Malone, a professor of public administration and politics at American University, told DW. For example, there are doubts about whether it was legal for the president to close federal agencies and massively lay off employees from those agencies in order to increase efficiency, Malone points out.
“The courts will be dealing with the legality of what this president did for years,” says the political scientist. What about the democratic institutions of the United States? Malone believes they are under considerable strain. One problem is this: American laws from more than 200 years ago are now being enforced in a completely different country than when they were written. Still, Malone is not losing hope: “Institutions in general are very difficult to overthrow,” he says. “I hope that the principles of democracy will ultimately prevail.” (DW)
