Judge to decide whether to temporarily block Trump’s National Guard deployment in Oregon
By Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
(CNN) — A federal judge will weigh Friday whether to grant a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops into Oregon – the latest step in one of several challenges to Trump’s effort to crack down on Democrat-led cities he claims are stricken by crime and disorder.
Oregon and Portland officials jointly sued the administration earlier this week after Trump announced that he would send the National Guard to protect “war-ravaged” Portland. The state says the order is illegal and has called the president’s portrayal of the city “wildly hyperbolic.”
Trump and his administration have cited weeks-long demonstrations outside the Portland ICE facility, framing them as “violent riots” tied to “Antifa domestic terrorists.” Local officials have disputed this, saying in the lawsuit that the protests have remained small in recent weeks and have not resulted in arrests since June.
The initial judge in the case, US District Judge Michael Simon, recused himself Thursday after the Justice Department expressed concerns over comments made by his wife, US Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, that were critical of troop deployment. Trump appointee Judge Karin Immergut will preside over the hearing Friday.
Trump’s maneuver in Portland follows similar efforts in Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Memphis – a push that has been met with impassioned pushback from Democratic leaders nationwide who argue the moves are politically motivated and lack justification.
About 200 Oregon National Guard soldiers have been mobilized as part of the operation, according to the Oregon Military Department.
The lawsuit argues this use of Oregon’s National Guard for civilian law enforcement does not fall under the narrow circumstances in which the president has the power to call state troops into federal action, which include “rebellion” or invasion by a foreign nation. Federal law says orders for this type of action should be made through state governors.
The Trump administration has said its goal is to safeguard US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities from demonstrators.
But a person familiar with White House strategy told CNN the move is part of Trump’s wider plan to use the military to intensify his national crime crackdown. The protection of ICE facilities provides the administration with a good pretext for the deployment, the source said.
It is unclear whether the National Guard are currently on the ground in Portland.
Trump said Wednesday the National Guard “is now in place” in Portland. However, local officials have not confirmed the troops’ presence and Portland Police Chief Bob Day suggested to CNN later that day that Trump’s claim may be exaggerated.
“We believe they’ll probably be deployed in the coming days, but they’re not in place right now,” Day told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Wednesday evening. “They’re receiving some additional training.”
The guardsmen being deployed to Portland will first spend several days at a facility nearly 100 miles away from the site of the protests in order to prepare and receive training, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley told CNN affiliate KGW Wednesday.
City leaders have expressed concern that the presence of the National Guard could whip up more fervent protests and stoke new unrest.
“The president has sent agents here to create chaos and riots here in Portland, to induce a reaction. To induce protests. To induce conflicts. His goal is to make Portland look as he was describing it as,” Sen. Merkley said in a news conference after Trump’s late September announcement. “Our job is to say, ‘We are not going to take the bait.’”
The Trump administration has defended its position, saying the troops will be used to support federal interests.
“Federalized members of the Oregon National Guard are prepared to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property in Oregon,” Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell told CNN in a statement.
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