When President Donald Trump decided last month to send the California National Guard to Los Angeles over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, many political and legal watchers were certain that courts would view the move as illegal,

Republicans have a paper-thin House majority — as demonstrated by the 218-214 final vote on Trump’s high priority bill — and Valadao, Kim and Calvert barely survived past challenges. Valadao first won a congressional seat in 2012, lost it in 2018 and regained it in 2020. He successfully fended off Democrat Rudy Salas in 2022 and 2024.