A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard units to Oregon, including the California National Guard.
California and Oregon sought the temporary restraining order after the President sent guard members from California to Oregon earlier in the day.
On Saturday, the same judge temporarily blocked the administration from deploying Oregon National Guard troops to Portland.
A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement that about 200 federalised members of the California National Guard who had been on duty around Los Angeles were being reassigned to Portland. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said about 100 arrived Saturday and around 100 more were en route Sunday. Kotek said there had been no formal communication with the federal govt about the deployment.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a memo that was submitted to the court shortly before the hearing that up to 400 Texas National Guard personnel were being activated for deployment to Oregon, Illinois and possibly elsewhere.
California and Oregon are suing the Trump administration to prevent the deployment of 200 National Guard troops from California to Portland, according to an amended lawsuit filed Sunday, Axios reported.
Illinois Governor calls Trump’s move ‘Trump’s invasion’
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on Sunday claimed that President Donald Trump was “ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon and other locations within the United States.”
Calling the ordering of 400 members of the Guard for deployment “Trump’s Invasion.” Pritxker urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate.
In a social media post, Pritzker said, “This evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States.
No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate. “
“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops,” he added.
He also said that the national guards must not be used as political props and asked American to speak up and help to stop this “madness.”
California troops deployed under federal control despite state objections
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement that personnel from his state were on their way Sunday and called the deployment “a breathtaking abuse of the law and power.”
He said these troops were “federalized” and put under the President’s control months ago over his objections, in response to unrest in Los Angeles. “The commander-in-chief is using the US military as a political weapon against American citizens,” Newsom said.
In a related court filing, an attorney in the California Military Department said the US Army Northern Command advised the department on Sunday that an order will be issued keeping the 300 guard personnel federalized through the end of January.
