SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that California will sue the Trump administration if it sends the National Guard to San Francisco.
In a joint statement with Attorney General Rob Bonta, Gov. Newsom said the state will file a lawsuit immediately if the president “breaks the law again by sending federalized members of the military to San Francisco.”
President Donald Trump has made his intentions clear in recent weeks that San Francisco is next, testing his executive powers in sending the National Guard to Democratic cities across America.
Last week, Trump said San Francisco is on the target list, calling the city “a mess.”
Donald Trump, right, speaks during a cabinet meeting, Aug. 26, 2025, at the White House and Gavin Newsom is seen at a press conference in Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 21, 2025.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File
In a statement, Newsom wrote:
“We’re a nation of laws and accountability – not a nation that turns a blind eye to abuse of power. 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. But California is proving him wrong – in the courts and on the facts,” Newsom wrote in a press release.
“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 added.
MORE: ICE, National Guard coming to San Francisco? Here’s what we know
Gov Newsom said in a press release, crime is down in San Francisco.
“According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, overall violent crime in major California cities is down 12.5% in 2025 compared to 2024. The largest overall declines in violent crime were reported by the police departments in Oakland (30%) and San Francisco (22%).”
MORE: Trump vows federal ‘surge’ in more American cities to combat crime
On X, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie addressed the National Guard, and how fentanyl is the major problem on the streets of San Francisco, and sending military troops won’t help.
“I am deeply grateful to the members of our military for their service to our country, but 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.”
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said ICE agents will be coming to San Francisco under the direction of President Donald Trump.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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