California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced he will sue the Trump administration after it ordered 300 California National Guard troops to Oregon. The deployment follows a federal court’s recent decision to block Trump’s attempt to federalize Oregon’s Guard.
Newsom criticized the move as a blatant power grab. “We’re suing Donald Trump. His deployment of the California National Guard to Oregon isn’t about crime. It’s about power,” he stated. “It’s un-American. And it must stop.” He called the action a “breathtaking abuse of the law and power,” accusing the administration of disregarding court orders and treating judges as political opponents.
The deployment comes in the wake of a federal judge temporarily blocking the use of Oregon’s Guard in Portland. Oregon officials argued the protests didn’t merit military intervention, and state and city leaders had sued to block the federalization. Meanwhile, Newsom insists the move violates both state sovereignty and constitutional limits on executive power.
Officials in Oregon say 101 of the California Guard troops have arrived by air, with additional personnel en route. Governor Tina Kotek noted the deployment was made without formal coordination with her state government.
In response, Trump’s team dismissed the announcement as “political theater,” arguing the president is acting within his lawful authority.
This legal clash comes amid escalating disputes over the proper use of military force in domestic settings. Earlier, Trump deployed federal forces and the California Guard to Los Angeles during protests, sparking litigation over the limits of presidential power under the Posse Comitatus Act and Tenth Amendment protections.
Newsom’s lawsuit adds a new front to those battles—this time over the cross-state deployment of Guard troops without the governor’s consent. Observers will watch whether courts uphold state authority or defer broadly to executive discretion in national security matters.
