CaliToday (06/10/2025): California Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a direct legal assault on the Trump administration, filing a lawsuit to halt the federal deployment of the California National Guard to Oregon. The move marks a dramatic escalation in the standoff between the state and the White House, coming just one day after a federal judge blocked President Trump from deploying Oregon's own Guard units within Portland.
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| Gavin Newsom, Donald Trump |
In a fiery declaration accompanying the lawsuit, Governor Newsom accused the White House of a blatant power grab that tramples on the constitutional rights of individual states.
"It must stop," Newsom stated unequivocally. "We are taking the Trump administration to court to put an end to this brazen abuse of power. A president cannot unilaterally federalize and deploy a state's National Guard troops against that state's will. This is a direct assault on the principles of federalism and a dangerous blurring of lines between military and civilian authority."
The lawsuit argues that the administration's decision to federalize and deploy California's troops without the governor's consent is an unconstitutional overreach. It contends that while the president has the authority to federalize the Guard under specific circumstances, using them for domestic law enforcement in another state against the express wishes of both governors involved sets a perilous precedent.
While the White House has yet to issue a formal response, the legal challenge is seen by observers as a critical new flashpoint in the long-simmering tensions between California and the Trump administration. The conflict has now moved beyond policy disagreements and into a fundamental battle over the control of a state's security forces.
This high-stakes legal confrontation will now force the courts to weigh the limits of presidential authority against the sovereignty of states. As California and Oregon present a united legal front, the nation watches to see how this constitutional power struggle will be resolved, a decision that could have landmark implications for federal-state relations for years to come.