Legal Expert: Courts Can’t ‘Second Guess’ Trump Over Policy Disagreements
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Friday that a recent appeals court ruling makes clear that judges cannot “simply second-guess” President Donald Trump’s decisions solely because they disagree with them.
In a unanimous decision on Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld Trump’s continued deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles, stating he “lawfully exercised his statutory authority.” Speaking on The Situation Room, Honig described the ruling as a “big win” for Trump and the executive branch’s authority.
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“It’s huge, Pam, because it goes to presidential powers and the extent of them,” Honig told host Pamela Brown. “So the core ruling here from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is yes, the federal courts have some role in reviewing the president’s decision to deploy the National Guard; however, the courts cannot just second-guess the president and overturn him if they disagree.”
“The court of appeals says ‘we, all of us, in the federal judiciary, we have to give very broad deference to the president, so unless his decision is patently absurd or based on bad faith, then we have to step back and let the president exercise this power. So it’s a big win for President Trump,” Honig continued.
On June 8, President Trump deployed the National Guard alongside approximately 700 U.S. Marines to suppress violent riots that erupted following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting illegal immigrant criminals in the region. National Guard troops and Marines were stationed throughout the streets to disperse crowds as rioters set vehicles on fire, hurled Molotov cocktails, and attacked law enforcement officers.
protesters chant “it is right to rebel, la migra go to hell” while trying to join up with another group. Officers are still shooting gas and flash bangs to keep the two separated @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/XXPuXafoS9
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) June 15, 2025
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No arrests made yet in Los Angeles, LAPD is attempting to disperse the groups still out currently. We’re almost 30 minutes till curfew now @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/grzOStwF1s
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) June 15, 2025
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Emiliano Garduno-Galvez, a previously deported Mexican national, faces attempted murder charges for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at ICE agents on June 7.
According to Fox News’ Bill Melugin, rioters also hurled rocks at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents as they tried to leave Paramount, California, injuring one agent with a minor hand injury after a rock shattered the windshield of their vehicle.
Following the appeals court’s ruling, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to spin the major win for Trump by stating that the president “is not a king and is not above the law.” “We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens,” the governor said.
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Also Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would allow lawsuits against Palestinian groups over U.S. citizens maimed or killed in terror incidents.
Chief Justice John Roberts ruled unanimously on Friday that Congress’s latest attempt to place the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization under the jurisdiction of federal courts is constitutionally permissible under the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act of 2019 after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law.
One of the claims was filed by the family of Ari Yoel Fuld, a US citizen who was tragically stabbed during a September 2018 terror assault in the West Bank.
On Wednesday upheld Tennessee’s ban on transgender surgery for minors in a landmark 6-3 decision, a ruling that strengthens efforts by conservative state lawmakers to protect children from irreversibly altering their bodies.
Since 2020, Republican-led states have enacted numerous laws regulating the lives of transgenders, particularly focusing on minors.
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President Trump, who campaigned on ending what he called “transgender lunacy,” also took steps to reverse the Biden administration’s policies that many saw as harmful to children.
