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By Adeola Adeosun
Weekend Night Editor
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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Sunday that his administration will take legal action against President Donald Trump's deployment of 300 California National Guard personnel to Portland, Oregon.
The deployment comes one day after U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut blocked Trump's attempt to federalize Oregon's National Guard, ruling that it violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law prohibiting military enforcement of domestic laws.
Trump has said the troops were needed in Portland to respond to demonstrations taking place at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building.
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White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Newsweek on Sunday: "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.”
Why It Matters
The California troops, originally federalized months ago in response to unrest in Los Angeles, are now being redirected to Oregon despite the federal court's Saturday ruling that there was no legal basis for National Guard deployment to Portland.
This latest deployment represents an escalation in the constitutional conflict between the Trump administration and Democratic-led states over the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement.
Immergut, appointed by Trump, emphasized in Saturday's ruling that the case involves "the relationship between the federal government and the states, between the military and domestic law enforcement, and the balance of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government."
This marks the second time in recent months that federal courts have blocked Trump's National Guard deployments, following a ruling that his deployment of 4,700 Guard soldiers and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles was illegal.
What To Know
Newsom characterized the deployment as "a breathtaking abuse of the law and power" in his Sunday press release, accusing the Trump administration of "unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself." The governor emphasized that the administration is "ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by the President himself, as political opponents."
"This isn't about public safety, it's about power," Newsom stated, directly challenging the administration's justification for the deployment. "The commander-in-chief is using the U.S. military as a political weapon against American citizens."
The governor's office noted that the 300 California National Guard personnel had been federalized months ago in response to civil unrest in Los Angeles—conditions that, according to Newsom, "never necessitated their deployment in the first place, and have long since subsided anyway." The redeployment of these troops to Oregon, rather than returning them to state control, represents what Newsom calls a circumvention of the federal court's ruling.
The controversy centers on the ICE building in Portland, which has been the site of nightly protests following expanded deportation raids under Trump's immigration policies. However, Immergut found that demonstrations were "small and uneventful" in the days leading up to Trump's deployment order, typically drawing only a couple dozen people in a one-block area of the 145-square-mile city.
The federal court determined that Trump's statements regarding the deployment were not "conceived in good faith" and were "simply untethered to the facts." The judge wrote that accepting the administration's arguments would risk "blurring the line between civil and military federal power — to the detriment of this nation."
Trump had previously called Portland "war-ravaged" and directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide troops "to end the radical left reign of terror in Portland once and for all," according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday.
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What People Are Saying
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on X: "After a federal court blocked his attempt to federalize the Oregon National Guard, Donald Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon. They are on their way there now. We are taking this fight back to court. The public cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the President of the United States."
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Newsweek on Saturday: "President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement — we expect to be vindicated by a higher court."
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said on Friday: "When the president and I spoke yesterday, I told him in plain language that there is no insurrection or threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state."
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a press release on Friday: "Sending in 200 National Guard troops to guard a single building is not normal. What we're seeing is not about public safety, it's about the President flexing political muscle under the guise of law and order."
What Happens Next?
California is expected to file its legal challenge in federal court immediately, likely seeking an emergency injunction to halt the deployment of its National Guard personnel to Oregon.
Newsom has vowed to "take this fight to court," while also calling on the public not to "stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the President of the United States."
Update 10/5/25, 3:28 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the White House.
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