The State of California's Chief Executive Gavin Newsom Launches Court Challenge Against Donald Trump Over National Guard Deployment to Portland
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated this past Sunday that he is filing a lawsuit against President Trump concerning the reported sending of 300 Californian national guard personnel to Oregon.
“The troops are currently en route,” Newsom said in a press statement. “This administration is unapologetically challenging the judicial framework directly and implementing their harmful rhetoric – disregarding court orders and viewing the judiciary, even presidential appointees, as adversaries.”
Judicial Background and Federal Decision
This planned court challenge comes after a federal judge’s ruling that blocked the federal government from dispatching the Oregon national guard to the city of Portland. Judge Karin Immergut agreed with arguments that it would inflame rather than calm unrest in the city.
The judge ruled in her order, which postpones dispatching the guard until at least October 18, that there was a lack of evidence that the recent protests in the city merited the decision.
City Authorities React
Caroline Turco, Portland’s senior deputy attorney, noted that there had been no violence against immigration officials for months and that current rallies were peaceful in the days before the president labeled the city to be a war zone, sometimes featuring a small number of protesters.
“This isn’t about public safety, it’s about power,” Governor Newsom said. “Legal action will be our response, but the public cannot stay silent in the wake of such reckless and dictatorial behavior by the nation's leader.”
Oregon Legal Chief Weighs In
In a statement online, Oregon attorney general Dan Rayfield expressed that the state is “quickly assessing our options and planning court proceedings.
“Donald Trump is clearly intent on sending the military in U.S. urban centers, lacking facts or authority to do so,” he wrote. “The duty falls on us and the courts to demand answers. That’s what we intend to do.”
National and Local Reaction
The guard's representatives directed inquiries to the Department of Defense. A department spokesperson offered no response. There was silence from the presidential administration.
National Background
This development from the state came just a 24 hours after the President approved the deployment of national guard troops to the city of Chicago, the newest in a string of comparable interventions across several US states.
Trump had initially revealed the proposal on September 27, claiming he was approving maximum deployment, as needed” in spite of requests from Oregon officials and the state’s congressional delegation, who indicated there had been a one, uneventful rally outside one federal immigration enforcement office.
Historical Context
Historically, Trump has amplified the storyline that the city is a conflict-torn city with activists engaging in disorder and illegal activities.
In his initial presidency in the year 2020, he deployed national troops to the metropolis amid the rallies over the death by officers of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The unrest expanded across the US but were notably severe in Portland. Even with protests against immigration officials being modest in size in the state recently, Trump has used them as a justification to deploy forces.
Remarking on X about the latest move from Trump, Newsom stated: “It’s appalling. It’s un-American, and it must be stopped.”