A federal judge in Oregon on Wednesday extended an emergency order blocking President Donald Trump from immediately deploying some 200 National Guard troops into Portland, delivering a blow, if only temporarily, to Trump's federalization push.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued the 14-day extension to keep in place her earlier temporary order, which was slated to expire this weekend.
That order blocked Trump from immediately deploying Oregon National Guard troops into the city despite the objections of local officials, who have argued that Trump's description of the violence in Portland is hyperbolic and does not warrant intervention from federal officers.
Judge Immergut described Trump's actions in her earlier order as "untethered to reality," and said the federalization effort risks "blurring the line between civil and military federal power - to the detriment of this nation."
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The extension comes as lawyers for the state of Oregon and for the Trump administration both await a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments on appeal from the Trump administration last week.
Judges on the three-member appeal court seemed largely sympathetic to the Trump administration, especially the two Trump appointees, who noted in court that presidents do enjoy broad latitude to deploy the National Guard.
They ended arguments by telling both parties they would rule as soon as possible on the issue, though the judges did not provide a more formal timeline.
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The extension from the lower court judge comes as Trump has sought to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities despite stated opposition from local and state leaders.
Senior administration officials have argued that the deployment is a necessary step to crack down on what they say is an uptick in violent crime and protect against threats from protesters, including anti-ICE demonstrations in many downtown areas.
The panel's majority otherwise did little to disguise their skepticism of arguments presented by Oregon Attorney General Stacy Chaffin - including that Trump's assessment of violence in the city did not justify federalizing the National Guard.
Democrats have countered that Trump's descriptions are hyperbolic and inaccurate, and are merely a legal pretext for Trump to try to "federalize" Democratic-led cities.
The issue is one of several similar cases centered on Trump's troop deployment, a matter widely expected to be eventually punted to the Supreme Court.
