Feds appeal ruling permanently blocking Trump Guard deployment to Portland

Federal lawyers are asking an appeals court to overturn a recent ruling in Oregon that blocked President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Portland.

On Friday, lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice gave notice that they’re appealing U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut’s Nov. 7 ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Immergut, a Trump appointee, found after a three-day expedited trial that evidence didn’t support Trump’s justification for the attempted late September deployment — that protests outside of a Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility since June constituted a “rebellion” against the federal government and significantly impeded its functions.

She ruled that Trump violated section 12406 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code and the 10th Amendment. The former gives the president power to federalize and deploy National Guard troops when the country is in danger of invasion or rebellion or is unable “with the regular forces” to execute federal laws. The latter ensures that states hold governance and policing power not granted to the federal government by the Constitution.

The appeal was expected, as lawyers for the federal government said during the three-day trial they would appeal any decision Immergut made against them. The court’s current schedule calls for lawyers for both sides to submit written briefs in February and March, though it could expedite that process.

President Donald Trump on Sept. 27 announced on social media that he would deploy troops to “war ravaged” Portland. Since then, he has federalized and attempted to deploy hundreds of National Guard from Oregon, California and Texas to Portland.

Immergut’s ruling barred troop deployment but did not immediately return control of the Guard troops to each state’s governor. The 200 Oregon troops in waiting for news of deployment were only to remain federalized until Nov. 21, however.

The 9th Circuit is also slated to rehear arguments over the appeal of a temporary restraining order Immergut issued in October that earlier blocked Trump’s Guard deployments, which a three-judge panel on the circuit overturned. Oregon petitioned for the rehearing in part because the decision was inconsistent with other court precedent.

A related case involving Trump’s attempted deployment of Texas National Guard troops to Illinois is sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court’s expedited schedule, or “shadow docket,” and a decision won’t be reached until at least Nov. 17, according to the court’s most recent request for briefs.

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