California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) erupted in anger on Sunday in response to President Donald Trump ordering three hundred California National Guard troops to be deployed to Portland, Oregon, a day after a federal judge blocked him from federalizing Oregon National Guard troops to help defend the ICE facility in Portland from Democrat-protected Antifa terrorists who have waged a violent siege all summer long.
Newsom vowed to sue Trump to stop the deployment, calling it “appalling,” “un-American,” and a “breathtaking abuse of power.”
Beyond going to court, Newsom acknowledged he was powerless to stop Trump, noting, “President Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon. They are on their way there now.”
Newsom is still smarting from Trump deploying California National Guard troops to Los Angeles last June to protect federal buildings and ICE agents from rioting over immigration enforcement operations.
On Friday, Newsom told the San Francisco Chronicle that California National Guard troops had been ordered to Oregon to help train that state’s Guard troops (excerpt):
Some California National Guard troops are being sent to Portland, Ore., to help train soldiers deployed there by President Donald Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom told the Chronicle on Friday evening. He said his administration may sue over the move, depending on what the soldiers are asked to do there.
“It’s very questionable that they’re being tasked to do that,” Newsom said. “Our legal team has already been engaged on this for the last day … if they do it, we’re prepared to litigate.”
Newsom said he was told Thursday that some of the troops currently deployed to Los Angeles would be sent to Portland “to help with training exercises.” He said he didn’t know if they had already been sent or how many would be deployed. He called the move “deeply alarming.”
With that mission now apparently changing from training troops to protecting feds, Newsom posted on Sunday, “BREAKING: We’re suing Donald Trump. 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. It’s appalling. It’s un-American. And it must stop.”
BREAKING: We’re suing Donald Trump.
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.
It’s appalling. It’s un-American.
And it must stop. pic.twitter.com/jdIMGz8hDP
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 5, 2025
Newsom’s press shop posted a separate message, “RED ALERT: Trump is ILLEGALLY sending 300 California Guard members to Portland — flouting the law, and treating judges as enemies. This comes AFTER a Trump-appointed judge rejected the White House’s justification for deploying federal troops. SPEAK OUT!”
RED ALERT: Trump is ILLEGALLY sending 300 California Guard members to Portland — flouting the law, and treating judges as enemies.
This comes AFTER a Trump-appointed judge rejected the White House’s justification for deploying federal troops.
SPEAK OUT!
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) October 5, 2025
Press release by Newsom:
Governor Newsom to sue, urges Americans to speak out on Trump’s “breathtaking abuse of power” with cross-state Guard deployment
SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom today issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Portland, Oregon, after a federal district court blocked the attempted federalization of Oregon’s National Guard:
In response to a federal court order that blocked his attempt to federalize the Oregon National Guard, President Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon. They are on their way there now. This is 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, as political opponents.
This isn’t about public safety, it’s about power. The commander-in-chief is using the U.S. military as a political weapon against American citizens. 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.
Governor Gavin Newsom
Trump illegally sends California troops to Oregon
Despite a federal court order finding no legal basis to deploy state National Guard troops to the streets of Portland and ordering that control of the Oregon National Guard be returned to state command, the Trump Administration is now sending 300 federally controlled members of the California National Guard to Portland to take their place. The troops had originally been federalized months ago in response to unrest in Los Angeles — conditions that never necessitated their deployment in the first place, and have long since subsided anyway.Courts rebuke Trump’s lawlessness
In its ruling yesterday, the federal judge appointed by President Trump rejected the Trump Administration’s justification for deploying federalized troops, writing in its order:“This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power — to the detriment of this nation.”
The court found that the President’s own statements regarding the deployment of federalized National Guard were not “conceived in good faith” and were “simply untethered to the facts.”
Axios reported a comment by the White House on the deployment (excerpt):
“President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement emailed to Axios.
Read the full article here