Newsom says California will sue over deployment of National Guard troops to Oregon

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday that he would sue the Trump administration after it federalized 300 California National Guard troops and deployed them to Oregon, just one day after a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to deploy Oregon National Guard troops in Portland.

“In response to a federal court order that blocked his attempt to federalize the Oregon National Guard, President Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon. They are on their way there now,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This is a breathtaking abuse of the law and power. The Trump Administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself and putting into action their dangerous words — ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by the President himself, as political opponents.”

In a statement, the White House confirmed the movement of California National Guard troops to Oregon.

“President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement. For once, Gavin Newscum should stand on the side of law-abiding citizens instead of violent criminals destroying Portland and cities across the country,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, referring to the California governor with a nickname often used by the president.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Sunday that, “At the direction of the President, approximately 200 federalized members of the California National Guard are being reassigned from duty in the greater Los Angeles area to Portland, Oregon to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal personnel performing official duties, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property.”

In a statement, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, confirmed that California National Guard troops had already arrived in Oregon, saying, “101 federalized California National Guard members arrived in Oregon last night via plane, and it is our understanding that there are more on the way today.”

She went on to condemn the move, saying, “This action appears to intentional to circumvent yesterday’s ruling by a federal judge. The facts haven’t changed. There is no need for military intervention in Oregon. There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security. Oregon is our home, not a military target. Oregonians exercising their freedom of speech against unlawful actions by the Trump Administration should do so peacefully.”

On Saturday, one day after the Trump administration activated 200 Oregon National Guard troops in Portland, a federal judge temporarily blocked the president’s move^[1].

U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued the temporary block, which lasts until at least Oct. 18.

“This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” she wrote in her ruling.

In a statement issued after the ruling, Kotek said: “There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security. No fires, no bombs, no fatalities due to civil unrest. The only threat we face is to our democracy — and it is being led by President Donald Trump.”

The Trump administration on Sunday filed a motion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency pause of Immergut’s decision to block the Oregon National Guard from being deployed by the administration onto the streets of Portland.

The Trump administration said Immergut “impermissibly second-guessed” Trump’s military judgements.

“Nearly 200 years ago, the Supreme Court made clear that these judgment calls are for the President to make — not a Governor, and certainly not a federal court,” the motion read.

On Sunday, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield responded to the news of California National Guard troops arriving in his state by saying that his office is “quickly assessing our options and preparing to take legal action.”

In an op-ed^[2] published Sunday in The Oregonian, Portland Police Chief Bob Day, didn’t denounce Trump’s deployment of the National Guard outright, but he said that “national portrayals” of Portland were overstating the problem there.

“There is no ignoring that we are facing an extraordinary time in our city’s history, with the deployment of both federal law enforcement and the Oregon National Guard,” Day wrote. “One of the reasons given for this action has been that Portland Police are not responding to public disorder.”

“Just because officers are not seen wearing tactical gear lining up before crowds does not mean we are not responding. In fact, research shows that such tactics often escalate crowd behavior. Instead, we use a layered approach when it comes to managing public order,” he added.

The president has clashed repeatedly with Democratic governors and mayors over the weekend over his moves to deploy National Guard troops across the country.

In addition to the lawsuit from Democratic leaders in Portland and Oregon, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, blasted Trump’s decision on Saturday to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago^[3], an idea the president has floated for weeks^[4].

“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will,” Pritzker said in a statement Saturday.

Democrats also blasted the president’s comments to senior military leaders^[5] last week, when he told them that the military should “use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military National Guard.”

Before the Trump administration’s moves this weekend in Portland and Chicago, it had deployed National Guard troops to two other American cities, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Trump has also threatened to deploy troops and federal law enforcement to other American cities including Baltimore^[6] and New Orleans^[7].

In Los Angeles last month, a federal judge ruled that the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines was illegal^[8]. Days later, officials in Washington, D.C., also sued^[9] to block the deployment of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital.