Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, delivered a sharp rebuke of California Gov. Gavin Newsom after the governor criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize members of the California National Guard, calling Newsom’s remarks historically misguided.
Newsom recently took aim at Trump’s June 2025 invocation of 10 U.S.C. § 12406, which federalized approximately 4,000 members of the California National Guard over the governor’s objections. He also referenced the deployment of 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles.
In remarks criticizing the move, Newsom described what he characterized as “masked men” and “secret police,” drawing a comparison to Nazi Germany.
“I want to remember all those images of masked men, the secret police, something familiar in Germany,” Newsom said. He added that the federalization of 4,000 Guard members was something the country had “never seen anything like,” describing it as the “militarizing the streets” of Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city.
Newsom framed the deployment as unprecedented, suggesting it represented a troubling escalation of federal authority within a state.
Cruz pushed back forcefully during an episode of his “Verdict” podcast, arguing that Newsom’s claim ignored well-documented moments in American history.
“Just like AOC and Whitmer, Newsom is apparently thoroughly historically illiterate,” Cruz said. He noted that presidents have previously federalized the National Guard, particularly during the civil rights era.
Cruz referenced President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s actions in the 1950s, when he deployed federal forces to enforce school desegregation in Southern states after Democratic officials resisted compliance with federal law.
“I guess his history book does not discuss the civil rights movement; he’s never heard of a president named Dwight D. Eisenhower; he’s never heard of sending the National Guard into Southern states,” Cruz said. “When Democrats, who refused to desegregate schools, resisted, Eisenhower sent the National Guard in.”
Drawing a parallel, Cruz argued that the current dispute centers on what he described as Democratic resistance to federal immigration law.
“In both instances, it is lawless Democrats attacking law enforcement,” Cruz said, adding that Newsom was “proudly following the tradition of Bull Connor,” a Democratic official associated with opposition to civil rights enforcement.
After Cruz reiterated on X that Newsom was “historically illiterate,” the California governor responded by highlighting his lifelong struggle with dyslexia and suggesting Cruz’s comment was a personal attack.
“Ted Cruz calling a dyslexic person illiterate is a new low, even for him,” Newsom wrote.
Cruz replied that his comment referred to Newsom’s understanding of history, not his reading ability.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t read,” Cruz responded on X, emphasizing that “historically illiterate” described a lack of historical knowledge.
Cruz then cited Executive Order 10730, the directive Eisenhower used to deploy the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation and allow the Little Rock Nine to attend Central High School after resistance from then-Gov. Orval Faubus.
The exchange highlights a broader political clash over the use of federal authority, immigration enforcement and historical precedent. While Newsom has framed the Guard deployment as an alarming expansion of power, Cruz argues that similar federal actions have occurred before — particularly when state leaders refused to comply with federal law.
The debate underscores ongoing tensions between Republican-led federal enforcement efforts and Democratic governors who oppose them, with both sides invoking history to make their case.
[READ MORE: Trump Downplays Rodríguez Comments, Defends Venezuela Strategy After Maduro Arrest]