WASHINGTON--U.S. President Donald Trump is reassigning about 200 federalized California National Guard troops from the Los Angeles area to Portland, Oregon, the Pentagon said on Sunday, even as the two states jointly sued in federal court to block the deployment.
In a ruling late on Saturday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump from deploying 200 Oregon National Guard troops to the city of Portland, citing a lack of evidence that recent protests necessitated the move.
In a brief statement, the Pentagon said the troops would "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."
National Guard troops are state-based militia forces that answer to their governors except when called into federal service. California Governor Gavin Newsom said he would take the Trump administration to court, although the troops "are on their way there now." Late on Sunday, California joined an existing federal lawsuit filed by Oregon as they seek to block deployment of troops from both states.
"This is a breathtaking abuse of the law and power. The Trump Administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself," Newsom said in a post on X, estimating that 300 troops would be sent.
Contacted by Reuters to clarify the discrepancy between figures from the Pentagon and Newsom, a spokesperson for the California governor's office said 300 are being deployed to Portland with 200 already en route.
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from using U.S. troops in California to fight crime on September 2, but that ruling is on hold while the administration appeals. As a result, the Guard troops headed to Oregon remain federalized and under Trump's command.
The Oregon deployment is the latest example of Trump's expanding use of the U.S. military in his second term, which has included deploying troops along the U.S. border and ordering them to kill suspected drug traffickers on boats off Venezuela.National Guard troops have been deployed to police Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and Trump has said he would send troops to several other cities, regardless of objections from local government officials.
Portland challenged Trump's efforts to federalize its National Guard, saying Trump was exaggerating the threat of protests against his immigration policies to justify illegally seizing control of state units.The state argued that Trump's deployment violated several federal laws and the state's sovereign right to police its own citizens. After joining Oregon's lawsuit, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters they were hoping for a court order as soon as Sunday evening.
