Newsom deploys National Guard to aid California food banks as shutdown deepens

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday, October 22, that he is deploying the California National Guard on a humanitarian mission to support food banks struggling under the weight of the federal government shutdown.

“The California National Guard will not be acting as law enforcement,” Newsom’s office emphasized in a pointed statement, drawing a clear line between the state’s humanitarian use of troops and recent federal deployments.

Newsom mobilizes National Guard to assist struggling families

“Millions of Americans rely on food benefits to feed their families, and while Republicans in Washington drag their feet, California is stepping up once again to fill in the gaps,” Newsom said in a statement.

“I’m expediting state funds for food banks and directing the California National Guard and California Volunteers to help distribute this food to families,” he added.

The move comes as food insecurity reportedly grows across the state, with thousands facing benefit delays due to the prolonged budget standoff in Washington.

The Governor’s Office said that the move comes as delays in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, begin to impact an estimated 5.5 million residents who rely on the program for daily meals.

To offset the disruption, the state will fast-track up to $80 million in emergency funding to sustain food distribution.

The National Guard has previously supported similar emergency responses, including wildfire containment, pandemic relief, and food distribution during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, when troops and volunteers reportedly helped deliver more than 800 million meals statewide.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom said that the state’s action was necessary due to stalled federal assistance.

“The Trump administration and their GOP shutdown have turned their backs on working people, pulling food from the tables of families who were already struggling to get by,” Siebel said.

Trump's National Guard deployment challenged in courts

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena is set to hear arguments regarding President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles.

The president's move has drawn criticism from state officials.

Separately, a federal appeals court ruling on Monday granted the Trump administration authority to send National Guard troops into Oregon, temporarily reversing a lower court order that had blocked the deployment.

“After considering the record at this preliminary stage, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority,” the three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit wrote in a 2-1 decision.

Justice Department attorneys argued that the lower court’s earlier ruling by US District Judge Karin J Immergut “improperly impinges on the Commander in Chief’s supervision of military operations, countermands a military directive to officers in the field, and endangers federal personnel and property.”