A federal appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump can deploy National Guard troops to Portland, overturning a lower court order that had blocked the move. The decision, handed down Monday by a divided three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, allows 200 Guard members to be sent to protect federal buildings despite objections from Oregon’s governor and attorney general.
The ruling marks the latest escalation in a bitter clash between the White House and Democratic-led states, which accuse Trump of authoritarian overreach and militarizing domestic law enforcement. In its opinion, the court said it was “likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority” when he federalized Oregon’s National Guard.
The deployment is intended to secure federal property, with officials claiming that protesters some dressed in costumes have obstructed immigration enforcement operations. Portland has become a flashpoint in the administration’s broader campaign to send federal forces into cities, following similar actions in Los Angeles, Washington, Memphis, and Chicago.
Oregon had successfully obtained a stay from a lower court that blocked the deployment, with U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut ruling that Trump’s description of Portland as “war-ravaged” was “untethered to the facts.” She argued that while there had been isolated attacks on officers and property, the government had not shown evidence of an organized rebellion and that local law enforcement was capable of handling unrest.
The appeals court’s 2-1 decision overturned that stay. Circuit Judge Susan Graber dissented sharply, warning that federalizing a state’s National Guard against the governor’s wishes undermines constitutional principles. She wrote that the ruling “erodes core constitutional principles, including sovereign States’ control over their militias and the people’s First Amendment rights to assemble and object to government policies.”
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield immediately called for an “en banc” review by the full Ninth Circuit, saying the ruling, if left in place, would give the president “unilateral power to put Oregon soldiers on our streets with almost no justification.” Governor Tina Kotek also condemned the decision, calling the deployment “a gross, un-American abuse of power” and demanding clarity on what role the Guard would play in a city where most protests remain peaceful.
The case is expected to continue through further appeals, with the possibility of reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tags: Trump National Guard Portland ruling, Ninth Circuit Trump decision, Oregon governor opposes Guard deployment, Portland protests federal troops, Karin Immergut Portland ruling, Susan Graber dissent Portland, Dan Rayfield en banc request, Tina Kotek Trump Guard criticism, Trump Portland war ravaged comments, National Guard constitutional rights dispute
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