A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a judge’s order blocking President Donald Trump from calling Oregon National Guard troops into federal service, though he remains prohibited from deploying them within the state for now. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated its decision “best preserves the status quo” in a brief order. The panel will hear arguments Thursday on whether to pause U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut’s order while the administration’s appeal proceeds.
“The effect of granting an administrative stay preserves the status quo in which National Guard members have been federalized but not deployed,” the judges wrote. “Defendants have not appealed or challenged the second temporary restraining order, and it is not before us.”
Immergut granted Oregon officials a restraining order after Trump directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to send Oregon National Guard troops to Portland. When the president later sought to deploy California troops instead, Immergut blocked that move with a ruling issued Sunday night. The Trump administration urged the appeals court to act by Monday, claiming Immergut “impermissibly second-guessed” the president’s military decisions.
Trump proceeded to send hundreds of federalized troops from California and Texas to Portland despite the restrictions. At a hearing Sunday night, Immergut questioned how the move was not “in direct contravention” of her earlier order. Her second ruling addressed state sovereignty concerns over the use of one state’s militia in a nonconsenting state but proved only temporary.
