Appeals Court Reinstates TRO, Slows Trump’s National Guard Moves
- Federal judges temporarily blocked new troop deployments to Portland.
- The Ninth Circuit stepped in to reinstate a judge’s Temporary Restraining Order.
- Washington and state sovereignty clashes are shaping the next legal fight.
- The administration has pushed back by federalizing and moving Guard troops from other states.
The Ninth Circuit on Friday temporarily blocked President Trump from deploying Oregon National Guard troops to Portland by reinstating Judge Karin Immergut’s Temporary Restraining Order. This is the latest legal pause in a back-and-forth that has seen judges and the administration spar over federal authority and public safety. Republicans see this as a direct clash between enforcing the law and activist judges tying the hands of officials trying to restore order.
Earlier this week a three-judge panel had allowed the deployment, but the court backtracked and put that decision on hold until the matter can be fully reviewed. That flip-flop shows how chaotic the situation has become and why commanders and local leaders are frustrated. The instability on the judicial front has forced the White House to think fast and act aggressively.
To push past the TRO, President Trump activated hundreds of California National Guard troops and up to 400 Texas Guardsmen for possible deployment to Oregon, Illinois and other hot spots. The administration argues these moves are lawful and necessary to protect federal facilities and support overwhelmed local law enforcement. From a Republican viewpoint, using federal assets to secure order when governors won’t act is plain common sense.
Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, originally issued the TRO and sharply criticized the administration’s decision to send troops. Her order has become the focal point of a constitutional tussle over the President’s authority to federalize National Guard units. The legal question is simple: who gets to enforce federal law when local authorities can’t or won’t?
On Monday, the Ninth Circuit allowed President Trump to deploy Oregon National Guard troops to Portland and said he “lawfully exercised his statutory authority under 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3), which authorizes the federalization of the National Guard when “the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.”” That language is what the administration is leaning on to justify rapid federal intervention. But the court paused that approval while it considers the broader consequences next week.
Judge Immergut also issued a second Temporary Restraining Order blocking President Trump’s California troop deployment to Oregon, expanding the scope of judicial interference. That second order came after a late night emergency hearing where the judge reportedly expressed intense displeasure with the federal approach. Critics say those reactions read like policy objections, not neutral legal rulings.
In a separate case, President Trump last Friday asked the US Supreme Court to intervene and allow National Guard troops to be deployed in Chicago. That move signals the administration is ready to take this all the way to the high court to settle who has the final say. For Republicans who prioritize law and order, the question now is whether the courts will side with constitutional clarity or continue to delay enforcement.
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