Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass reacts to federalized National Guard troops in her city

Summary

Consider This from NPR: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Reacts to Federalized National Guard Troops in Her City

Release Date: June 8, 2025

In this episode of NPR's Consider This, host Scott Detrow delves into the escalating tensions in Los Angeles following President Donald Trump's unprecedented deployment of 2,000 federally authorized National Guard troops. Bypassing California Governor Gavin Newsom, Trump justified the move under a seldom-invoked federal law, sparking fierce debate among local officials and residents. This summary encapsulates the key discussions, reactions, and on-the-ground reporting from the episode.

---

Background: Trump's Deportation Agenda and Rising Protests

The episode opens with a recap of President Trump's immigration policies, highlighting his campaign promise to initiate the largest deportation program in American history.

Scott Detrow [00:00]: "During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised over and over that his administration would undertake a massive deportation of migrants without legal status."

Trump's execution of this agenda led to intensified ICE raids nationwide, resulting in thousands of arrests and sparking widespread protests.

Steve Futterman [00:08]: "On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history. Going to get the criminals out."

The increased ICE activities ignited public outcry, with protests erupting in cities like Worcester, Massachusetts, and Chicago, where demonstrators chanted in support of migrants.

---

Escalation in Los Angeles: Deployment of the National Guard

The situation reached a critical point in Los Angeles when clashes between protesters and immigration officials turned violent. In Paramount, officials employed flashbangs, pepper spray, and tear gas against demonstrators near a Home Depot. In response to the escalating unrest, Trump announced the mobilization of the National Guard.

President Trump's Voter Czar Tom Homan [01:19]: "We were already mobilizing. We're going to bring National Guard in tonight."

This decision marked the first time in six decades that a U.S. president deployed National Guard troops without the governor's consent, prompting criticism from Governor Gavin Newsom, who deemed the move "inflammatory."

---

Legal and Administrative Perspectives

Host Scott Detrow introduces Luke Garrett to unpack the legalities surrounding the deployment.

Luke Garrett [03:50]: "Trump can take control and federalize portions of the California National Guard under a rarely used federal law. But this law does not allow these troops to engage in ordinary law enforcement action."

Garrett explains that while the current deployment is limited to supporting immigration enforcement, Trump has hinted at possibly invoking the Insurrection Act, which would permit military action against civilians—a power not exercised since the 1992 Los Angeles race riots.

---

Official Reactions: Mayor Karen Bass and Secretary Kristi Noem

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem present contrasting views on the situation.

Karen Bass [05:08]: "They're there at the direction of the president in order to keep peace and allow people to be able to protest, but also to keep law and order."

Bass criticizes the deployment as a chaotic escalation, emphasizing that local law enforcement has been responsive.

Karen Bass [05:25]: "When we ask for backup in a situation, LAPD has waited hours to respond and they've waited until we have an officer in a danger situation until they come in."

In contrast, Secretary Noem defends the federalization, alleging that local authorities failed to swiftly protect ICE officers during raids and protests.

Kristi Noem [06:03]: "The LAPD was ready and able to provide the support when it was asked for... I believe that these raids and now the federalization of troops to come into Los Angeles is an intentional effort to sow chaos."

Noem expresses concerns about the fear permeating communities, affecting both workplaces and schools.

---

On-the-Ground Reporting: Steve Futterman in Los Angeles

Reporter Steve Futterman provides a vivid account of the unfolding events on the streets of Los Angeles.

Steve Futterman [11:14]: "I'm in downtown LA, where the National Guard troops have been since early this morning. Now, for most of the day, as several hundred protesters eventually gathered, there were no major problems."

However, tensions flared in the afternoon as National Guard troops advanced towards protesters, leading to panic and the use of pepper spray and tear gas by law enforcement.

Steve Futterman [11:14]: "Guard troops started moving towards the protesters, causing quite a bit of panic... law enforcement... has since declared this an unlawful assembly and have warned people if they don't leave, they could."

Residents express frustration and fear over the federal presence, feeling that the situation is being deliberately exacerbated.

Estrella Corel [12:14]: "The confrontations and violence we have seen the last couple of days have been provoked."

Mayor Bass reiterates her stance against the National Guard's presence, accusing Trump of trying to escalate the situation for spectacle.

Karen Bass [12:26]: "I think Trump is trying to make a show when there's armed guards... LA City is not out of control. We are peacefully protesting people being dragged out of their homes and schools."

---

Community Concerns and Future Outlook

The episode underscores the community's anxiety over potential further escalation. Witnesses report that the constant tension has dissuaded many from participating in protests, fearing violence.

Elizabeth Torres [13:13]: "It's been the drip, drip, drip of escalation that actually brought me here."

Mayor Bass emphasizes the importance of peaceful demonstrations.

Karen Bass [13:23]: "We also want to make sure that the protests stay peaceful, that we don't give the National Guard or the Trump administration the excuse. But when mayhem breaks out, you know it's going to be addressed."

As the situation continues to develop, both local and federal authorities remain in a delicate balance, navigating the fine line between maintaining order and respecting citizens' rights to protest.

---

Conclusion

The deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles without the governor's consent has ignited a complex debate over federal authority, local governance, and civil liberties. Mayor Karen Bass and other local officials vehemently oppose the federal intervention, fearing it may lead to heightened tensions and unrest. Meanwhile, Secretary Kristi Noem and members of the Trump administration defend the move as necessary for law enforcement support. On the streets of Los Angeles, the presence of armed troops has both provoked fear and deterred further protest participation, leaving the city's future stability uncertain.

---

This summary was produced based on the transcript of the NPR Consider This episode released on June 8, 2025.

Transcript

[Scott Detrow]

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised over and over that his administration would undertake a massive deportation of migrants without legal status.

[Steve Futterman]

On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history. Going to get the criminals out.

[Scott Detrow]

And once in office, President Trump began to carry out his agenda. Immigration authorities ramped up raids across the country and made thousands of arrests. But as immigrations and Customs Enforcement, known as ice, ramped things up, people began to protest.

[Karen Bass]

Holy Mary, Mother of God, now and.

[Kristi Noem]

At the hour of our death.

[Scott Detrow]

In Worcester, Massachusetts, a crowd formed to pray and chant as ICE detained a mother and her daughter. In Chicago, protesters sat in front of an ICE van and chanted in Spanish that people united will never be defeated. The confrontations reached a boiling point this weekend in California where protesters and immigration officials clashed across Los Angeles. In the city of Paramount, south of la, officials deployed flashbangs, pepper spray and tear gas on a crowd protesting near a Home Depot. After two days of confrontations that turned violent at times, President Trump's vorter czar, Tom Homan said the administration was mobilizing the National Guard.

[Karen Bass]

We're already ahead of the game.

[Luke Garrett]

We were already mobilizing. We're going to bring National Guard in tonight.

[Scott Detrow]

Citing a rarely used law, President Trump bypassed California's Governor Gavin Newsom and ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to LA for 60 days, maybe more. Newsom criticized the move, calling it inflammatory and saying there was no need for additional law enforcement in the city. Consider this. It's the first time in 60 years a president has used federal power to deploy National Guard troops without the agreement of the state's governor. How are California officials and residents responding to this action from npr?

[Karen Bass]

Welcome to npr.

[Scott Detrow]

I'm Scott Detrow.

[Karen Bass]

Public media is facing the most serious threat in its history. Congress is considering a White House proposal that would eliminate federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund local NPR stations. This move would immediately threaten many stations ability to serve their communities and could force some to close. Take a stand for public media [e-mail].

[Luke Garrett]

Decades ago, Brazilian women made a discovery they could have an abortion without a doctor thanks to a tiny pill. That pill spawned a global movement helping millions of women have safe abortions regardless of the law. Hear that story on the network from NPR's Embedded and Futuro Media. Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Karen Bass]

Short Wave thinks of science as an invisible force showing up in your everyday powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the shortwave podcast from npr.

[Scott Detrow]

It's Consider this from npr. National Guard troops are in Los Angeles after days of confrontations between protesters and immigration officials. What is the Trump administration saying about the federalization of troops? And how is this playing out in la? In a moment, we will hear from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. First, we will start our coverage with NPR's Luke Garrett. Luke, thanks for being here.

[Luke Garrett]

Hey there, Scott.

[Scott Detrow]

Starting out, what exactly is Trump's order? And is he allowed to do this, to take this step without the state agreeing?

[Luke Garrett]

In short, yes, he can take control and federalize portions of the California National Guard under a rarely used federal law. But this law does not allow these troops to engage in ordinary law enforcement action. According to Georgetown law Professor Stephen Vladek, this means that the deployed 79th Infantry Brigade of the California National Guard is not authorized to actively face off or use force against protesters. Instead, Trump's action specifically directs these troops to protect and support immigration law enforcement.

[Scott Detrow]

Could that change, though?

[Luke Garrett]

It could. Yes, it could. A more aggressive option is available to the president, and that's declaring the Insurrection act, which does allow Trump to unleash military force against US Civilians. He reportedly wanted to use this extreme power in 2020 during the protests against the murder of George Floyd. And this afternoon, while speaking to reporters, Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection act and sending more troops to other cities. Now, this act has not been invoked since 1992 during the race riots in LA. But to be clear, Trump has not made this move yet in this case.

[Scott Detrow]

In a moment, we're going to hear more about real pushback on the local and state level here. What is the Trump administration saying today.

[Luke Garrett]

To justify so the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem thanked the president for the deployment of the National Guard troops. Here she is on CBS News.

[Karen Bass]

They're there at the direction of the president in order to keep peace and allow people to be able to protest, but also to keep law and order.

[Luke Garrett]

And Noem justified the deployment by saying local law enforcement failed to quickly protect ICE and DHS officers during immigration raids and the ensuing protests.

[Karen Bass]

When we ask for backup in a situation, LAPD has waited hours to respond and they've waited until we have an officer in a danger situation until they come in.

[Luke Garrett]

Now, local law enforcement officials say they have responded and supported federal agents when they called for help. I just got off the phone with LAPD and they told me that they responded to these calls for helps within 55 minutes, not hours.

[Scott Detrow]

NPR's Luke Garrett, thanks so much.

[Luke Garrett]

Thank you, Scott.

[Scott Detrow]

Joined now by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who earlier today called the deployment of the National Guard a chaotic escalation. Mayor, thanks for coming on the program.

[Kristi Noem]

Thanks for having me on.

[Scott Detrow]

I want to start with your response to Secretary Noem's characterization of the LAPD here.

[Kristi Noem]

Well, the LAPD was ready and able to provide the support when it was asked for. You can't expect for them to have hundreds of officers ready when they did not know when the raid was going to take place. And so I believe that these raids and now the federalization of troops to come into Los Angeles is an intentional effort to sow chaos. The fear in our city is real, rippling through every community and every family. You have people now who are going to be afraid to go to work on Monday, kids who are going to be afraid to go to school. I've been in touch with immigrant rights leaders.

[Scott Detrow]

What are you telling them?

[Kristi Noem]

Well, they're I'm actually trying to assist them because they're trying to reach out to the people who have been detained. And I'm asking the, you know, the government, federal government to allow these visits to take place. That is what has happened for years and years and years when people were arrested or immigration reasons. And so families now, they might know their relative has been taken away. They don't know if their relative is still in the United States. They don't know where in the city, which is now. We know that a lot of people have been moved out of the city to another area. So that's what my conversations have been with the immigrant rights leaders trying to collaborate, trying to find out what they need and trying to be responsible to those needs.

[Scott Detrow]

Mayor, I want to ask about the presence of the National Guard in the city, raised concerns about it, a chaotic escalation, as I said before. What are your specific concerns tonight, especially as we are beginning to see interactions between protesters and law enforcement already?

[Kristi Noem]

Well, there you go. That's my specific concern, is that this city right now is a tinderbox and I do not want to see civil unrest take place in this city. And I think bringing the National Guard in is provocative. The what was happening in terms of the protest and all was well under control by the police department. And, you know, Los Angeles county has multiple cities in it. And so what you saw take place yesterday was not inside Los Angeles City, but our law enforcement officers are well equipped here to handle the level of protest that you saw. And that's why Governor Newsom did not make the request for Federal support, and neither did I in terms of. We thought more support was needed that our local law enforcement couldn't handle. Still, if you have. Go ahead.

[Scott Detrow]

Still, the federalized troops are in the city now. Is the city coordinating them? Is the city working with them?

[Kristi Noem]

Well, the city is not coordinating them.

[Scott Detrow]

No, but the city coordinating with them rather. Are you in communication with these units that are now.

[Kristi Noem]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Scott Detrow]

And how's that going? Is that collaborative? Is it tense?

[Kristi Noem]

Well, no, it is collaborative at this point. It's not tense. There are some things that we're trying to work with them on, specifically. For example, the federal building was vandalized with graffiti all around. We want to remove that graffiti, but we need federal permission in order to do that. So I spoke to the U.S. attorney, Billis Bailey, and I made that request that we wanted access so we could clear off the graffiti. The graffiti makes the area look terrible and we want that taken care of. But this is the first time that the National Guard has been federalized since 1992. I was here then, very much involved in the community at that time. But at that time, there was real civil unrest all around the city. This is not the situation that we are facing now. You had protests, you had some violence and vandalism that happened, but it was, you know, the disruption last night was about 120 people that warned the National Guard.

[Scott Detrow]

You say that and you're right. This is a much different scale at this point. But you and others have said that you're concerned this could escalate. There are many people arguing that that's exactly what the president wants. You have people coming out wanting to confront these troops who they don't want in their city. So I'm asking you, do you think there is a way? Is there an off ramp at this point? Do you see a way to avoid a crisis at this point, given the various motivations? What is it?

[Kristi Noem]

Oh, yeah, no, absolutely. There's no reason for this to continue to escalate at all. And, you know, now, having said that, we also want to make sure that the protests stay peaceful, that we don't give the National Guard or the Trump administration the excuse. But when mayhem breaks out, you know it's going to be addressed. And so I'm just hoping that people peacefully demonstrate they exercise their First Amendment right, but they do not cross the line into violence.

[Scott Detrow]

That's Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Kristi Noem]

You're welcome.

[Scott Detrow]

We're going to hear one more voice here. That is reporter Steve Futterman. Who is out on the streets in around Los Angeles watching what is happening. Hi, Steve.

[Steve Futterman]

Hi, Scott.

[Scott Detrow]

You are right now at one of the locations where Guard troops have been mobilizing. What are you seeing?

[Steve Futterman]

Well, I'm in downtown la, where the National Guard troops have been since early this morning. Now, for most of the day, as several hundred protesters eventually gathered, there were no major problems. The Guard members stood with their powerful weapons. But in the early afternoon, things suddenly and dramatically changed. Guard troops started moving towards the protesters, causing quite a bit of panic. And a block away, it got even worse. My colleague, NPR's Liz Baker, has been in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center. Now, that's where many of the detainees from the last 48 hours were at least initially held. She says things there had also been peaceful until law enforcement began using pepper spray and tear gas to disperse around a couple hundred protesters. Moments later, a large caravan of ICE vehicles drove through. And law enforcement in the area I'm at right now has since declared this an unlawful assembly and have warned people if they don't leave, they could.

[Scott Detrow]

We just heard the mayor saying she doesn't want these troops there. The governor said the same. What are people around you saying about this?

[Steve Futterman]

Well, they're not happy. They feel the confrontations and violence we have seen the last couple of days have been provoked. Estrella Corel is a social worker. She doesn't feel there is any need to have the Guard here at all.

[Karen Bass]

I think it's ridiculous. I think Trump is trying to make a show when there's armed guards. You know, we all have signs, and I just think it's him trying to escalate and make a situation and a show, which is what he is, a showman, and that's what he cares about. So I just think there's no need for it. LA City is not out of control. We are peacefully protesting people being dragged out of their homes and schools.

[Scott Detrow]

Steve, people are clearly worried. Are they factoring that into their decision about whether or not to come out and protest?

[Steve Futterman]

Oh, absolutely. The people I spoke with are indeed worried, as the mayor said, about things escalating even more. Another person I spoke with on the street today, her name is Elizabeth Torres, she told me for her, it's been the drip, drip, drip of escalation that actually brought her here.

[Karen Bass]

Well, Friday I started seeing on social media, on the news, everything that was happening yesterday.

[Kristi Noem]

All day.

[Karen Bass]

I saw it and I was anxious. And this morning I woke up, I'm like, I have to do something.

[Scott Detrow]

What should we be looking for? Next?

[Steve Futterman]

Well, I think tonight will be the first test. The last two nights there's been quite a bit of violence. But I think it's going to be most important to look at tomorrow and the next few days. If there are new ice raids, and there very well could be, there's almost certain to be a response.

[Scott Detrow]

That is Steve Futterman covering this for us in Los Angeles. Thank you so much.

[Steve Futterman]

Thank you, Scott.

[Scott Detrow]

This episode was produced by Avery Keatley. It was edited by Anna Yukoninoff, Kathryn Laidlaw and Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's CONSIDER this from npr. I'm Scott Detrow.

[Karen Bass]

Congress is considering a rescissions package from the White House that would claw back more than $1 billion of public media funding. Federal funding for all of public media amounts to about $1.60 per person per year. That helps bring you the news and podcasts you rely on from NPR. Please take a stand for public media [e-mail] I'm Tonya Moseley, co host of Fresh Air. At a time of sound bites and short attention spans, our show is all about the deep dive. We do long form interviews with people behind the best in film, books, tv, music and journalism. Here, our guests open up about their process and their lives in ways you've never heard before. Listen to the FRESH AIR podcast from NPR and whyy want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon prime members can listen to Consider this sponsor free through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get consider this [e-mail] that's plus.NPR.org.