“The district court has no authority to usurp the president’s authority as commander in chief,” Kelly said in an emailed statement to the Southern California News Group. “The president exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom’s lawless Los Angeles.”

Gavin Newsom ’s renewed control of the California National Guard didn’t last more than a few hours thanks to a federal appeals court. “The request for an administrative stay is GRANTED,” the court wrote in a short order tonight after the White House and DOJ came up short this afternoon in their bid to maintain a hold on the unrequested and widely seen as unnecessary troop deployment.