President Trump on Sunday deployed 300 California National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon defying a federal order blocking the move – as Golden State Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to sue in response.
“After a federal court blocked his attempt to federalize the Oregon National Guard, Donald Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon,” Newson said in a post on X, later calling the order “un-American.”“They are on their way there now. We are taking this fight back to court. The public cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the President of the United States.”
Newsom’s fiery threat comes hours after a federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration from sending 200 Oregon National Guard troops to the “war ravaged” city that has been under siege by anti-ICE agitators for more than 100 straight days. – New York Post
Our Take: A federal judge in Oregon said President Trump can’t deploy the Oregon National Guard to Portland, so the President is sending California National Guard instead.
This battle with Oregon is a rerun of what we went through in California in June during the LA immigration riots. Federal Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled that Trump’s federalization of ~4,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles violated federal law (10 U.S.C. § 12406, which authorizes such deployments only for invasion, rebellion, or inability to enforce laws) and the 10th Amendment (state sovereignty). He ordered control returned to Governor Gavin Newsom.
Immediately after Breyer’s order (June 12), the 9th Circuit issued a temporary stay, allowing Trump to retain control pending further review. A few days later (June 19), a three judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that Trump likely had statutory authority to federalize the Guard. They rejected arguments that courts couldn’t review the decision and found the LA protests (including property damage and interference with federal agents) met the “danger of rebellion” threshold. That opinion kept the troops under federal control during the litigation, and the case (Newsom v. Trump) remains in the 9th Circuit, with potential for en banc review or escalation to the high court.
Here is where it gets hilarious. On September 2, Breyer issued another ruling, enjoining the Trump administration from using the remaining federalized California Guard members (or any military) for domestic law enforcement in California, citing violations of the Posse Comitatus Act. This was a partial victory for Newsom, blocking active enforcement in California – but not fully reversing federalization.
So… Trump has federalized National Guard troops in California that he is enjoined from deploying to California unrest, and a situation in Oregon in which he is enjoined from federalizing Oregon Guard members to resolve…
Sending the California soldiers to fight the Oregon terrorists isn’t just a perfect solution to a national security issue – it’s also efficient and avoids waste.
Accelerating with DOGE. – Ashe in America