LOS ANGELES: An appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids.

The decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found Trump acted illegally when he activated the soldiers over opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The deployment was the first by a president of a state National Guard without the governor鈥檚 permission since 1965.

The court case could have wider implications on the president鈥檚 power to deploy soldiers within the United States after Trump directed immigration officials to prioritize deportations from other Democratic-run cities.

Trump, a Republican, argued that the troops were necessary to restore order. Newsom, a Democrat, said the move inflamed tensions, usurped local authority and wasted resources. The protests have since appeared to be winding down.

The ruling comes from a panel of three judges on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, two of whom were appointed by Trump during his first term. During oral arguments Tuesday, all three judges suggested that presidents have wide latitude under the federal law at issue and that courts should be reluctant to step in.

The case started when Newsom sued to block Trump鈥檚 command, and he won an early victory from US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco.

Breyer found that Trump had overstepped his legal authority, which only allows presidents can take control during times of 鈥渞ebellion or danger of a rebellion.鈥�

鈥淭he protests in Los Angeles fall far short of 鈥榬ebellion,鈥欌€� wrote Breyer, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton and is brother to retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

The Trump administration, though, argued that courts can鈥檛 second guess the president鈥檚 decisions and quickly secured a temporary halt from the appeals court.

The ruling means control of the California National Guard will stay in federal hands as the lawsuit continues to unfold.