Bennet, Hickenlooper, Schiff, Padilla, Colleagues Warn Federal Court of Continued Abuse of Military Deployments by Trump Administration

Sep 9, 2025| Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and 17 of their Senate colleagues to file an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Newsom v. Trump, the lawsuit brought against President Donald Trump for his misuse of the U.S. military earlier this year.

The State of California filed the lawsuit after President Trump deployed thousands of members of the California National Guard and U.S. Marine Corps to Los Angeles without legal justification or approval from state or local officials.

"President Trump's unlawful decision to deploy the military in Los Angeles was a clear abuse of power and a blatant attempt to punish his political opponents. President Trump has stated his intent to continue unlawfully deploying state militias to other 'blue' cities. Our arguments to the Court are clear: this case must prevent the Trump administration from escalating its abuse of our military to control and intimidate those who oppose him," said Bennet.

"President Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles without consulting Congress or the governor. If this were really about safety, he would have followed the law. Instead, he's occupying our neighborhoods and making it harder for local law enforcement to do their jobs," said Hickenlooper.

"Donald Trump made his true motives for the deployment of our military in Los Angeles plain - instead of improving safety, he is focused on spectacle; instead of protecting Americans, he is punishing cities and states he believes are against him. Trump's abuse of power is clear, illegal, and unconstitutional - and our arguments to the Court explain why this case must be the line drawn in the sand to prevent further misuse of our servicemembers on the streets of American cities," said Schiff.

"Donald Trump's militarized spectacle in Los Angeles was a blatantly unlawful attempt to distract from his failing political agenda and enact his cruel mass deportation agenda. Trump's deployment of the military to 'blue' cities across America has never been about public safety - it's about retribution and control," said Padilla. "This abuse of power is a threat to much more than just California or immigrant communities: if the Circuit Court allows the President to bypass the Governor of California to federalize the National Guard to suppress peaceful protests for immigrants' rights, what's to stop him from suppressing other rights across the country? Our arguments to the Court make clear that Trump's unprecedented militarization of Los Angeles should not be used as a playbook for terrorizing other cities across America."

In their amicus brief, Bennet and the senators warn that President Trump may continue to abuse military deployment should the Court rule for the administration.

"Our concern that President Trump will continue to act in bad faith and abuse his power is borne out by his recent deployment of state militias to Washington, D.C. and his stated intent to deploy state militias in other 'blue' cities," wrote the senators.

In addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, Schiff, and Padilla, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai'i), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) signed the amicus brief.

The amicus brief can be found here.