The Brief A federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, citing a lack of evidence of significant unrest. The move comes as Democratic governors accuse the White House of overstepping its authority.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland, ruling that the government failed to show justification for the deployment.
The ruling came just hours after federal agents used tear gas on demonstrators outside the city’s ICE building, where roughly 400 people marched Saturday.
At least six were arrested.
Big picture view:
President Trump has described Portland as "war-ravaged," but U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued a two-week restraining order, writing that the protests were "small and uneventful" and did not justify federal military involvement.
"She said that the federal government made no showing of anything current or imminent in Portland, and so that she felt that the President's request could not be supported," said UC College of the Law professor David Levine.
The ruling drew criticism from the White House, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who called it "legal insurrection."
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office responded to the criticism on X: "Sorry the Constitution hurt your feelings."
On Friday, Newsom said that some California National Guard troops were being sent to Portland at President Trump’s direction, reportedly to help train Oregon soldiers.
The governor told the San Francisco Chronicle he was prepared to sue over the move.
Guard in Other Cities?:
In Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker said Saturday he had been informed by the Pentagon that Guard troops would be deployed to Chicago. He called the decision "unnecessary" and a "manufactured performance."
Earlier this week, Trump again threatened to use the military in cities such as San Francisco.
"It seems that the ones that are run by the radical left Democrats, what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places. And we're going to straighten them out one by one. And this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room," Trump said Tuesday before military leaders in Virginia.
Levine questioned the legal basis for any similar deployment to San Francisco.
"So I can't even imagine what they would point to in San Francisco as even a fig leaf to say something is going on... Currently there's maybe a few minor, minor, demonstrations," he said. "So it would be very unlikely I think that the President would have the right to bring a National Guard."
A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17 to decide whether the temporary block in Portland will be extended.
[SRC] https://www.ktvu.com/news/judge-halts-trump-troop-deployment-portland-amid-backlash-from-governors
