Late Sunday, a federal judge temporarily stopped the Trump administration from sending any National Guard troops to Oregon.
The decision came after a hectic day of legal back-and-forth, which began when the president called up California troops for Portland—just a day after the same judge had barred him from using Oregon’s own National Guard.
In a rare virtual hearing held late Sunday night, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut approved California’s request for a temporary restraining order, blocking the planned deployment of up to 300 members of the California National Guard to Portland.
Judge Immergut stated that the Trump administration’s actions likely violate both federal statute 10 U.S.C. §12406 and the Tenth Amendment. “It appears to violate both,” she remarked during the hearing.
“This is a shocking misuse of both law and power,” Newsom said in a statement. “The Trump Administration is blatantly undermining the rule of law, ignoring court orders, and treating judges — including those appointed by the President himself — as political adversaries.”
During Sunday’s emergency hearing, she challenged federal government lawyers, questioning whether sending troops from other states was simply an attempt to get around her earlier ruling that blocked the deployment of Oregon’s National Guard.
In that earlier decision, she warned that using the military to control unrest without Oregon’s approval could threaten the state’s sovereignty—and that of others—while further fueling tensions in Portland.
The White House has not yet commented on Sunday’s ruling. However, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, denounced it on X, calling it “one of the most egregious and thunderous violations of constitutional order we have ever seen,” and claiming it’s yet another effort to overturn the 2024 election by decree.
