California Governor Gavin Newsom scored another legal victory against the Trump Administration after a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to deploy National Guard troops—including 300 from California—to Portland, Oregon.
“We just won in court—again,” Newsom declared late Sunday night, announcing the ruling by U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut. “A federal judge blocked Trump’s unlawful attempt to deploy 300 of our National Guard troops to Portland. The court granted our request for a temporary restraining order, halting any federalization, relocation, or deployment of any guard members to Oregon from any state.”
Newsom, who has frequently clashed with the former president, ended his post defiantly: “Trump’s abuse of power won’t stand.” The governor even punctuated the announcement with a link to Dr. Dre’s “F*** You,” urging followers to play it “with sound on.”
Judge Immergut issued the temporary restraining order (TRO) late Sunday, just hours after blocking Trump from deploying Oregon’s own National Guard to the same city. Both California and Oregon had filed lawsuits arguing that the move violated constitutional limits on federal power.
“How could bringing in a federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention to the temporary restraining order I issued yesterday?” Judge Immergut asked during a hearing. “Aren’t defendants simply circumventing my order?”
The TRO will remain in effect until at least October 19, as both states move to secure a longer-term injunction. The Trump Administration has appealed Immergut’s earlier ruling, claiming the court “impermissibly second-guessed the Commander-in-Chief’s military judgments.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson defended the President’s decision, stating, “President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement.”
Before the ruling, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker also accused Trump of overreach, saying the Administration planned to deploy troops from Texas and Illinois without consulting state leaders. “No one from the federal government called me directly,” Pritzker said, calling the move “an attempt to manufacture a crisis.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott defended Trump’s plan, arguing, “You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way.” Newsom’s office later fired back, saying, “Sorry, Champ—the Constitution’s in your way!”
The latest court battle follows a series of legal clashes between Newsom and Trump over the use of federal troops in U.S. cities. In September, another federal judge ruled Trump had violated the law by sending National Guard members and Marines into Los Angeles without state consent during protests linked to immigration enforcement raids.
“There was never a need—and there is certainly no need now—for troops to be deployed against their own communities,” Newsom said at the time. “We won’t back down.”