A federal judge on Thursday ruled President Trump must return control of California’s National Guard to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) by Friday afternoon, prompting a lightning-fast appeal that began within minutes.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, an appointee of former President Clinton, temporarily blocked the president from deploying thousands of guardsmen to Los Angeles, where protests over his immigration agenda have sometimes turned violent.

But the judge paused his order until Friday at noon PDT, giving the administration a quick window to try to fast-track an emergency appeal.

“At this early stage of the proceedings, the Court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions,” wrote Breyer, who is also the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. “He did not.

“His actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory........

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