“What was unlawful with the Oregon National Guard is unlawful with the California National Guard,” Rayfield said. “The judge’s ruling was not some minor procedural point for the president to work around like my 14-year-old does when he doesn’t like my answers.”
A federal judge has issued a preliminary restraining order prohibiting President Donald Trump from deploying any National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, mere days after the administration attempted to circumvent another legal decision.
According to CNN, the Trump administration’s initial mobilization of the Oregon National Guard was blocked by a federal court. Shortly thereafter, the president attempted to activate units from states outside Oregon, including Texas and California.
In her decision, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut expressed heavy skepticism of the administration’s actions. Speaking to Deputy U.S. Assistant Attorney General Eric Hamilton, she said, “Mr. Hamilton, you’re an officer of the court. Aren’t the defendants simply circumventing my order?”
The restraining order was issued after a 30-minute hearing.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has since cast the ruling as a major win.
“What was unlawful with the Oregon National Guard is unlawful with the California National Guard,” Rayfield said. “The judge’s ruling was not some minor procedural point for the president to work around like my 14-year-old does when he doesn’t like my answers.”
In her original ruling, blocking the deployment of the Oregon National Guard, Immergut found that the plaintiffs, including state and city officials, “are likely to succeed on their claim that the President exceeded his constitutional authority and violated the Tenth Amendment” in ordering the deployment.
The White House has tried to downplay the significance of the ruling.
“The facts haven’t changed: President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.
Before Immergut’s ruling, at least 100 California National Guard troops had already arrived in Oregon, with more on the way.
“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,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement before Sunday’s ruling.
“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,” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said.
Sources
Federal judge temporarily blocks any deployment of National Guard to Portland
Portland ‘not a military target,’ governor tells Trump as federal troop orders spark backlash
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