Trump administration sends California National Guard troops to Oregon

The Trump administration is deploying around 200 members of the California National Guard to Oregon after a judge blocked the president from federalizing guardsmen in that northwestern US state, according to media reports.

"This action appears to (be) intentional to circumvent yesterday's ruling by a federal judge," Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement Sunday, referring to US District Judge Karin Immergut's decision Saturday to temporarily block the federalization of 200 Oregon National Guard members to the city of Portland, where protests have taken place near a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in recent weeks.

"There is no need for military intervention in Oregon. There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security," said Kotek. "Oregon is our home, not a military target."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately responded to President Donald Trump's move to send some of his state's guardsmen to Oregon, who were previously federalized by the president during protests in Los Angeles, by announcing a lawsuit against the administration.

"We're suing Donald Trump," Newsom wrote on the US social media company X’s platform. "His deployment of the California National Guard to Oregon isn't about crime. It's about power."

"He is using our military as political pawns to build up his own ego," he added. "It's appalling. It's un-American. And it must stop."

Legal and political experts said Trump was bypassing the judge's decision by using federalized guardsmen from California to carry out his original agenda.

The White House released a statement confirming the deployment.

"President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement," said spokesperson Abigail Jackson.

Newsom called the president's action "a breathtaking abuse of the law and power."

"The Trump administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself and putting into action their dangerous words -- ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by the president himself (Immergut), as political opponents."

"The commander-in-chief is using the US military as a political weapon against American citizens," Newsom continued. "We will take this fight to court, but the public cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the president of the United States."