California National Guard members guard the entrance to the Edward Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on June 15, 2025.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Oct. 5 temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sending any National Guard troops to police Portland, Oregon, hours after the Pentagon said that it reassigned 200 California National Guard members to Oregon.

The ruling by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut in Oregon followed the Trump administration's decision to call in troops from California and Texas just one day after she temporarily blocked Trump from deploying 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced the move and amended lawsuit on Oct. 5, which added California as a party in the suit.

"How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention of the (decision) I issued yesterday?" Immergut asked a Trump administration lawyer during a hearing on Oct. 5.

Immergut said there was no evidence that recent protests necessitated the presence of National Guard troops, no matter where they came from. The ruling, which will remain in effect until at least Oct. 19, means the Trump administration would be blocked from sending any National Guard troops to Portland while Oregon and California seek a longer-term ruling in court.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told USA TODAY in an email that Trump was "using his lawful authority."

“President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement," said Abigail, adding that California Gov. Gavin Newsom "should stand on the side of law-abiding citizens instead of violent criminals destroying Portland and cities across the country."

Meanwhile, lawyers from the Oregon attorney general’s office told federal officials that the Portland protests were “small and sedate,” resulting in only 25 arrests in mid-June and no arrests in the three-and-a-half months since June 19.

Oregon’s lawsuit said that Trump announced the troop deployment after Fox News showed video clips from “substantially larger and more turbulent protests” in Portland in 2020.

Newsom: 'We are taking this fight back to court'

Earlier on Oct. 5, Newsom said he's suing Trump, claiming the commander-in-chief deployed 300 California National Guard troops to Oregon.

“After a federal court blocked his attempt to federalize the Oregon National Guard, Donald Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon. They are on their way there now,” Newsom said in a post on X on Oct. 5, adding: "We are taking this fight back to court."

One of the Democratic Party’s most forceful critics of Trump and a prospective candidate for the next White House race, Newsom has previously accused the Republican administration of going too far amid a nationwide immigration crackdown.

“His deployment of the California National Guard to Oregon isn’t about crime,” Newsom said in a separate post Oct. 5. “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.”

Trump had previously deployed National Guard members to Los Angeles to quell anti-immigration protests. The president's widespread immigration efforts were at the center of his 2024 reelection campaign.

Contributing: Joey Garrison and Sarah Wire, USA TODAY; Jonathan Williams and Anastasia Mason, Salem Statesman Journal; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US judge blocks Trump from sending any National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon

Reporting by Sudiksha Kochi and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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