Los Angeles, Oct 6 (IANS) — California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that the state will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to deploy California National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. Newsom accused former President Donald Trump of “using the US military as a political weapon against American citizens.”
In a statement released on Sunday, Newsom revealed that Trump had ordered the deployment of 300 California National Guard members to Portland after a federal judge temporarily blocked his attempt to federalize Oregon’s National Guard.
“They are on their way there now,” the statement said. “This is a breathtaking abuse of power and the law. The Trump administration is openly defying court orders and treating judges — even those appointed by the President himself — as political adversaries.”
Newsom said the state would challenge the move in court, urging the public to speak out against what he described as “reckless and authoritarian conduct by the President of the United States.”
Trump has defended his decision, claiming that sending federalized troops was necessary to restore order in Portland, which he said was “under siege” by protesters opposing immigration enforcement operations carried out by federal agents.
On September 27, Trump directed “all necessary troops” to be sent to Portland, placing 200 members of the Oregon National Guard under the authority of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In response, Oregon State and the city of Portland filed a lawsuit the following day.
Federal Judge Karin Immergut ruled on Saturday that the protests in Portland were “not significantly violent or disruptive” enough to justify Trump’s federalization order. The administration has since appealed the decision to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco — the same court that previously reinstated Trump’s authority to deploy National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June after a lower court had blocked the move.
