🔗 Share this article California's Chief Executive Gavin Newsom Initiates Court Challenge Against Donald Trump Over National Guard Deployment to Portland The governor of California, Gavin Newsom declared this past Sunday that he is suing President Trump over the claimed deployment of 300 Californian national guard troops to the state of Oregon. “They are on their way there now,” the governor said during a press announcement. “This administration is openly challenging the legal system itself and implementing their dangerous rhetoric – ignoring court orders and treating judges, including those named by the President, as adversaries.” Judicial Context and National Ruling Newsom’s proposed lawsuit comes after a court decision that halted the federal government from deploying the Oregon's guard to the city of Portland. US district judge Karin Immergut upheld assertions that it would intensify rather than ease tensions in the urban area. Immergut stated in her order, which delays dispatching the forces until at least 18 October, that there was a lack of evidence that the recent protests in Portland justified the move. Local Authorities Respond Portland's legal representative, a city attorney, said that there had been peaceful conditions against immigration officials for an extended period and that recent Ice protests were peaceful in the period before the chief executive declared the metropolis to be a conflict area, occasionally featuring a small number of demonstrators. “This isn’t about public safety, it concerns authority,” Governor Newsom asserted. “This battle will be fought in the courts, but the public cannot stay silent in the presence of such irresponsible and autocratic conduct by the U.S. President.” State Attorney General Weighs In Through an announcement on X, the state's attorney general said that the state is evaluating choices and planning court proceedings. “The administration is obviously hellbent on using the military in U.S. urban centers, without proof or legal basis to do so,” he noted. “It is up to us and the legal system to hold him accountable. We are committed to this course.” National and State Response State guard officials passed on queries to the federal defense agency. A department spokesperson declined to comment. There was no immediate comment from the White House. Broader Context The news from Oregon came just a 24 hours after Trump authorized the dispatch of state guard forces to Chicago, the most recent in a series of similar operations across numerous states in the U.S.. The President had first announced the proposal on September 27, saying he was approving maximum deployment, as needed” despite pleas from local leaders and the state’s congressional delegation, who said there had been a solitary, calm demonstration outside an immigration office. Past Background Historically, Trump has emphasized the narrative that Portland is a conflict-torn city with activists participating in chaos and illegal activities. In his initial presidency in 2020, he dispatched national troops to the city in the midst of the demonstrations over the death by law enforcement of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The protests spread across the United States but were particularly intense in that city. Even with protests against immigration officials being fairly limited in the state this year, Trump has cited them as a reason to dispatch troops. Remarking on X about the latest move from Trump, the governor said: “It is outrageous. It is contrary to our principles, and we must prevent it.”