Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Attempt to Deploy National Guard Troops to Oregon: Second Ruling in Two Days
A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Oregon for the second time in two days. The judge ruled that the administration's attempt to circumvent her original order by deploying Guard troops from California and Texas was in direct contravention of her decision. The ruling came after Trump claimed the military was needed to combat violence against federal immigration officials in Portland, but the judge found his assessment to be untethered to facts and lacking a legal basis.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered hundreds of California National Guard troops to deploy to Portland and reached an agreement with Texas to send troops to Chicago, Portland, and other areas. The judge expressed concern over the deliberate attempt to circumvent her initial decision and described the new deployments as a violation of federal law and the Tenth Amendment, which protects state sovereignty.
During a Sunday night telephone hearing, the judge scolded a Justice Department attorney for the administration's maneuvers and questioned whether they had complied with her order. Attorneys for Oregon, California, and Portland urged the judge to expand her order to cover California troops and potentially troops from other states or Washington, D.C. The fate of the deployment may ultimately be decided by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the administration has sought an emergency stay of the judge's Saturday order.