Newsom Threatens Trump Over Possible Natl. Guard Deployment to San Francisco
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a fiery warning Wednesday, threatening to sue President Donald J. Trump’s administration if the federal government follows through with plans to deploy National Guard troops to San Francisco.
“Send troops to San Francisco and we will sue you, @realDonaldTrump,” Newsom wrote on X, escalating a standoff that underscores the deep divide between state and federal authority.
Speaking later at a news conference, the Democratic governor — widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender — doubled down on his defiance.
“We’re going to be fierce, we’re going to be focused in terms of our response,” Newsom said. “Quite literally, this is the lawsuit that I will file within a nanosecond of any effort to send the military to one of America’s great cities, San Francisco.”
Newsom claimed that California officials “will push back with clarity and conviction” and “continue to win in court.”
His threat came shortly after President Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that the National Guard’s next deployment would be to San Francisco — joining Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., where federal forces are already working alongside local authorities to combat surging crime, bolster border enforcement, and restore public safety.
“We’re going to go to San Francisco,” President Trump said Sunday. “The difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco. San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world, and then 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Trump administration also plans to send 100 federal agents from Customs and Border Protection and Coast Guard Base Alameda to assist with the mission.
Newsom fired back Tuesday with a blistering statement accusing the president of abusing power and undermining state sovereignty.
“We’re a nation of laws and accountability — not a nation that turns a blind eye to abuse of power,” Newsom said.
He added, “Donald Trump, himself a convicted felon who pardoned felons convicted of assaulting federal law enforcement officers, is misleading the public with his false narrative that America, and especially California, is some lawless wasteland.”
The governor continued:
“But California is proving him wrong — in the courts and on the facts. We don’t bow to kings, and we’re standing up to this wannabe tyrant. The notion that the federal government can deploy troops into our cities with no justification grounded in reality, no oversight, no accountability, no respect for state sovereignty — it’s a direct assault on the rule of law. We’re drawing a line: California will always defend the Constitution, our people, and our values from authoritarian overreach.”
Newsom has pointed to declining homicide rates in San Francisco as evidence that his state’s approach is working — a claim critics dispute given the city’s continued struggles with drug trafficking, open-air crime, and homelessness.
San Francisco’s Democrat Mayor Daniel Lurie echoed Newsom’s opposition, telling The Associated Press, “The National Guard does not have the authority to arrest drug dealers — and sending them to San Francisco will do nothing to get fentanyl off the streets or make our city safer.”
But supporters of President Trump argue the move is long overdue. They note that years of progressive leadership have turned one of America’s most iconic cities into a hub of lawlessness and despair, with fentanyl overdoses, theft, and homelessness overwhelming local law enforcement.
This isn’t California’s first clash with Washington. Over the summer, Newsom sued after the administration sent National Guard and Marine units to Los Angeles to restore order during anti-ICE protests. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals later ruled in favor of the president, affirming federal control over Guard troops protecting federal property.
Despite that legal precedent, Newsom again accused Trump of stoking unrest for political gain. “California has seen enough,” he wrote Wednesday. “President Trump and Stephen Miller’s authoritarian playbook is coming for another of our cities, and violence and vandalism are exactly what they’re looking for to invoke chaos.”
Yet polls show most Americans — including many Californians — support the president’s law-and-order approach and believe Washington must intervene where local leaders have failed. For the Trump administration, the message remains clear: no city is above the law.