PORTLAND, Ore. – In a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump’s escalating crackdown on urban protests, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut—a Trump appointee—issued a sweeping temporary restraining order Sunday night, halting the deployment of National Guard troops from any state to Portland. The ruling, expanding her Saturday block on Oregon’s own Guard, slammed the administration’s bid to reroute 300 California troops and 400 from Texas as a “flagrant disregard” for judicial authority, citing no evidence of the “rebellion” Trump invoked under the Insurrection Act.
The decision capped a frantic weekend: Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland officials sued September 28 to stop Trump’s federalization of 200 local troops amid nightly demonstrations against ICE raids. Immergut, during an emergency hearing, grilled Justice Department lawyers: “You’re missing the point—this is an end-run around the court’s order.” She decried the moves as eroding state sovereignty and blurring civilian-military lines, effective until at least October 19. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who joined the suit, hailed it as a “victory for democracy,” vowing to reclaim his Guard’s control after their mobilization from a prior L.A. stint.
Democrats nationwide celebrated, with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker calling it a check on “authoritarian overreach” amid his own suit against 300 Illinois troops en route to Chicago. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged swift Supreme Court review, warning of a “pattern of executive abuse.”
But Trump struck back with a twist Democrats dubbed a “poison gift”: Within hours, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the activation of 5,000 active-duty Marines from Camp Pendleton to “bolster federal operations” in Portland, Chicago, and L.A.—bypassing Guard restrictions entirely. “The judge blocked the Guard? Fine—here’s your real enforcement,” Trump quipped at a White House briefing, framing it as a “surprise upgrade” for sanctuary cities. Critics howled foul, invoking the Posse Comitatus Act barring military law enforcement, but Hegseth cited “national security exemptions” tied to immigration threats.
The maneuver, echoing Trump’s 2020 playbook but amplified, risks immediate lawsuits—California’s AG Rob Bonta filed Monday, alleging Posse Comitatus violations. Protests intensified Sunday, with 20 arrests after clashes near Portland’s ICE facility. As appeals race to the Ninth Circuit, this judicial slap-and-military riposte exposes America’s fault lines: federal might versus local defiance. With midterms six weeks out, Trump’s “gift” may rally his base—or ignite a constitutional firestorm.
