PORTLAND, Ore. — In a stunning rebuke to President Donald Trump’s aggressive push for federal control in Democratic strongholds, a judge he himself appointed has issued a temporary restraining order halting the deployment of 200 National Guard troops to Portland.
U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, nominated by Trump in 2019, ruled Saturday that the president’s call-up was grounded in “false claims about unrest” and his own statements were “simply untethered to the facts,” raising alarms about the risk of “unconstitutional military rule.”
The order, which temporarily bars the federal activation of the Oregon National Guard, stems from a lawsuit filed by the state of Oregon and the city of Portland challenging Trump’s move to intervene amid ongoing protests against ICE operations.
It is set to expire on October 18 unless extended by the court.
Immergut’s decision delivered a sharp warning: Efforts to justify the Guard’s deployment on bad-faith grounds could plunge the nation into a form of unconstitutional military rule.
Politico’s Kyle Cheney first flagged the ruling on X, emphasizing its irony given Immergut’s Trump ties.
Judge IMMERGUT, a Trump appointee to the bench, ruled that Trump’s call-up was based on false claims about unrest in Portland and that Trump’s own statements were ‘simply untethered to the facts,'” Cheney wrote.
He added that the judge’s stark language underscored the dangers of executive overreach.
Aaron Parnas, reporting via Substack, called it “another bombshell ruling just dropped.” “A federal judge in Oregon, nominated by Donald Trump, minutes ago issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from deploying 200 National Guard troops to Portland,” Parnas wrote, highlighting the immediate impact on Trump’s plans.
Federalizing Blue States
The deployment was part of Trump’s broader strategy to federalize responses in “blue cities” like Portland, where local leaders have resisted his immigration enforcement tactics. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler hailed the ruling as a victory for state sovereignty and constitutional rights.
“This is a win for the rule of law and the people of Oregon,” Rayfield said in a statement, vowing to fight any further encroachments.
Trump’s administration has framed such moves as necessary to combat “anarchy” and protect federal facilities, but Immergut’s order exposes cracks in that narrative.
The judge, a former federal prosecutor with a reputation for impartiality, scrutinized the evidence and found Trump’s justifications lacking.
This isn’t the first time a Trump appointee has ruled against the president; earlier cases have blocked similar overreaches, from anti-DEI policies to disaster aid conditions tied to immigration cooperation.
Legal experts see the decision as a check on executive power.
“It’s a reminder that even judges the president appoints are bound by the Constitution, not loyalty,” said one former DOJ official, speaking anonymously.
The ruling could set a precedent for challenges to Trump’s other Guard deployments, including in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
As the temporary order holds, Portland’s streets remain free of additional federal troops—for now.
But with the expiration date looming and appeals likely, the battle over federal intervention in local affairs is far from over.
For Trump, who has vowed to “straighten out” Democratic cities one by one, this setback from one of his own picks stings as a test of his administration’s legal footing.
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