California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Sunday, accusing the president of misusing the California National Guard by deploying 300 troops to Portland, Oregon. The move follows a federal judge's temporary block on federalizing the Oregon National Guard, prompting the administration to redirect California-based forces.
Newsom condemned the decision as a 'breathtaking abuse of the law and power,' alleging that President Donald Trump is weaponizing the military against domestic dissent. 'The Trump administration is attacking the rule of law itself—ignoring court orders and treating judges as political opponents,' Newsom stated in a press release.
The dispute stems from protests in Portland opposing federal immigration enforcement actions. Trump defended the deployment as necessary to address what he described as a city 'under siege,' while Oregon officials argued the protests lacked the violence or disruption to justify military intervention. Federal Judge Karin Immergut ruled Saturday that Trump’s use of the Oregon National Guard was unjustified, leading to an ongoing appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court.
Legal experts suggest the case could set precedents for federal-state authority conflicts, a topic of interest to global observers monitoring U.S. political stability and its implications for international partnerships in Asia and beyond.
