California secures court victory, Trump cannot deploy California National Guard into Oregon

What you need to know: A court ruled that Trump cannot send the California National Guard or any other state national guard soldiers into Oregon.

Sacramento, California - In a major setback to the Trump Administration and victory for the rule of law, a federal judge blocked the federal government's unlawful attempt to deploy 300 California National Guard soldiers to Portland - an effort the judge called an improper effort to "circumvent" her ruling yesterday that Oregon National Guard members could not be federalized and deployed.

The court granted the state's request for a temporary restraining order, which halts any federalization, relocation or deployment of any guardsmembers to Oregon from any state.

The rule of law has prevailed - and California's National Guard will soon be heading home. This ruling is more than a legal victory, it's a victory for American democracy itself. Donald Trump tried to turn our soldiers into instruments of his political will. While our fight continues, tonight the rule of law said 'hell no'.

Governor Gavin Newsom

"The Trump Administration's flagrant disregard for the courts was on full display when it sought to circumvent Judge Immergut's order blocking the federalization of the Oregon National Guard by redeploying troops from Los Angeles to Portland," said Attorney General Rob Bonta. "This disrespect for the rule of law cannot stand-and I'm glad the court agreed. The President's move to deploy the National Guard of one state over the objections of a Governor to another state over the objections of a second is well outside of the norms or practices of any President in recent history. But this President is determined to take as much power as the courts will give him. This fight isn't over, but today's rebuke of the President's illegal actions is a step in the right direction."

Earlier today, Governor Newsom announced the state's intention to sue the Trump Administrationafter the White House illegally sought to deploy 300 California National Guard personnel into Portland, Oregon, the day after a federal district court blocked the attempted federalization of Oregon's National Guard. California joined Oregon's suit in the Oregon federal court. See the amended complaint here, and the states' joint motion for a temporary restraining order here.

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 tried to send 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 unfounded claims that 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 her ruling yesterday, the federal judge appointed by President Trump rejected the Trump Administration's justification for deploying federalized troops, writing in her 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."