The White House on Monday reportedly sharply criticized a federal judge’s decision blocking President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, calling the move an “egregious” overreach that undermines both presidential authority and national security.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller blasted the ruling in a post on X, arguing that the president has an unquestionable constitutional right to use the U.S. military to protect federal property and personnel.
“A district court judge has no conceivable authority, whatsoever, to restrict the President and Commander-in-Chief from dispatching members of the U.S. military to defend federal lives and property,” Miller wrote early Monday. “Today’s judicial ruling is one of the most egregious and thunderous violations of constitutional order we have ever seen — and is yet the latest example of unceasing efforts to nullify the 2024 election by fiat.”
The controversy stems from an order issued by U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut on Saturday, granting a temporary restraining order sought by Oregon officials to block Trump from directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to send Oregon National Guard troops into Portland.
The president then attempted to deploy California National Guard troops instead — a move that prompted swift legal challenges from both California and Oregon.
Immergut expanded her order late Sunday, temporarily halting the Trump administration’s plan to send California National Guard units to the city.
Her ruling also prevents the president from deploying troops from any of the 50 states or Washington, D.C. to Oregon while the legal battle continues.
Democratic leaders in both states celebrated the court’s intervention. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a joint statement praising Immergut’s decision as a rebuke to what they described as presidential overreach.
“The rule of law has prevailed,” Newsom said Sunday night. “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.’”
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, who has repeatedly clashed with the White House over public safety policy, said Sunday that Trump had also ordered Texas National Guard troops to Oregon before the restraining order was issued.
The court’s decision is the latest in a series of legal confrontations between Trump and state officials, many of whom have sought to limit his use of executive power in domestic security matters.
Miller, a senior adviser and one of Trump’s closest aides, framed the judge’s ruling as part of a broader campaign by political opponents to undermine the president’s constitutional authority and obstruct his policy agenda.
“This is not just about Portland,” one senior White House official said privately. “It’s about whether unelected judges can override the president’s duty to protect the American people.”
Newsom, meanwhile, responded to Miller’s post with a meme mocking the administration’s outrage — a screenshot of text messages reading, “i ain’t reading all that,” followed by “i’m happy for u tho” and “or sorry that happened.”
While the White House has not yet indicated whether it will appeal Immergut’s order, officials signaled Monday that the president intends to continue asserting his authority to deploy federal resources where, as Miller put it, “American lives and federal sovereignty are at stake.”
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