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Trump administration orders CA National Guard to Oregon. Newsom vows legal fight
National Guard stand guard near the metropolitan detention center Monday, June 9, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom is vowing to fight deployment of California National Guard troops to Portland.
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Eric Thayer
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AP Photo
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Topline:
Governor Gavin Newsom said this morning that the Trump administration has ordered 300 members of the California National Guard to Oregon. There's been no official announcement by the administration.
Why now: The deployment of the California Guard comes after a federal judge on Saturday temporarily barred the administration from sending Oregon’s own Guard troops to Portland. Newsom said in Sunday's statement the troops "are on their way now."
Why Portland: The Trump administration has portrayed Portland, and other Democrat-led cities such as L.A. and Washington D.C. as rocked by civil unrest.
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Why send the California Guard: The troops had already been federalized in the summer after protests broke out in L.A. over immigration raids. Newsom said it was in "response to unrest in Los Angeles — conditions that never necessitated their deployment in the first place, and have long since subsided anyway."
Where things stand: As NPR reports:
The White House said Trump "authorized" the deployment of 300 Illinois National Guard members, after vowing for weeks to send federal forces into Chicago. Also over the weekend, a federal judge in Oregon temporarily blocked the administration's plan to deploy the Oregon National Guard to Portland, though troops have arrived in Oregon from California.
Guard members will be used to protect federal property as well as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Federal Protective Service agents and other federal employees, according to a copy of a federal memo viewed by NPR. They will be sent to places where there are "violent demonstrations" in the state or where they are likely to occur based on "current threat assessments," the memo said.
Already this year, the Trump administration has sent National Guard members to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Trump has said he also intends to send troops to Memphis with the backing of Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
What's next in California: The governor said that "we will take this fight to court," but also urged the public to speak out. "This is a breathtaking abuse of the law and power."
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