Oregon Sues Over Trump’s National Guard Deployment Plan

President Trump’s most recent plan to deploy the National Guard in American cities is already facing legal roadblocks
Oregon and its largest city, Portland, are suing to block President Donald Trump from deploying the stateโs National Guard, calling it an unconstitutional abuse of power.
โFar from promoting public safety, Defendantsโ provocative and arbitrary actions threaten to undermine public safety by inciting a public outcry,โ the state and city contend in the lawsuit filed Sunday in federal court in Portland.
โI think this is a sad day for our country, a sad day for Oregon that the president of the United States does not listen to local leaders about what they need,โ Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, told reporters during a videoconference shortly after the suit was filed.
โWhen the president and I spoke yesterday, I told him in very plain language there is no insurrection or threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state,โ Kotek said. โPutting our own military on our streets is an abuse of power … Local law enforcement has this under control.โ
โItโs actually un-American, if you think about it, to use the military against our own citizens but thatโs exactly whatโs happening right now, across our country,โ Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) told the press conference.
He said his office plans to file within the next day for a temporary restraining order against the deployment.
The lawsuit follows Trumpโs announcement on social media Saturday that he was ordering the Defense Department to send troops to Portland to use โfull force, if necessary,โ to combat protests that he said were interfering with immigration enforcement. Trump described the decision as the result of a request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
โAt the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,โย he wrote.
Oregon officials say the Pentagon followed through on Trumpโs order on Sunday morning, calling up 200 members of the stateโs 6,500-member National Guard contingent. State officials say even the relatively small call-up could damage the stateโs ability to respond to emergencies.
Politico reported that one anonymous official said they expect it to be a National Guard mission that would look similar to Los Angeles and Washington, which was focused on โsupporting federal and local law enforcement,โ by doing logistics and not much more.
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Trumpโs powers to deploy federal troops domestically has already been challenged in court. Aย federal judge in Septemberย found that his use of military troops in Los Angeles was illegal. That district court judge paused his own ruling, and it was stayed by a federal appellate court while the appeal is ongoing.








