A federal judge in Oregon has temporarily blocked Donald Trump's administration from sending some 200 federalised California National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, a setback for the US president as he seeks to dispatch the military to cities over the objections of their Democratic leaders.
The ruling by US District Judge Karin Immergut followed a joint lawsuit by California and Oregon seeking to block the extraordinary move that drew vehement criticism from both states' governors.
A day earlier, Immergut temporarily blocked Trump from deploying 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland, citing a lack of evidence that recent protests necessitated the move.
"How could bringing in federalised National Guard from California not be in direct contravention of the (decision) I issued yesterday?," Immergut asked a Trump administration lawyer during a hearing on Sunday night.
Immergut's ruling on Sunday means the Trump administration would be blocked from sending the California troops to Portland while the lawsuit plays out.
There was no immediate comment from the White House or from the Pentagon on the judge's order.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said before the judge's order that the troops were already on their way to Portland.
"This is a breathtaking abuse of the law and power. The Trump Administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself," Newsom said in a post on X.
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from using US troops in California to fight crime on September 2, but that ruling is on hold while the administration appeals. As a result, the Guard troops headed to Oregon remain federalised and under Trump's command.
On Sunday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said Trump was ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard to Illinois, Oregon and other cities.
In a social media post, Pritzker called on Texas Governor Greg Abbott to "immediately withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate."
Oregon and Portland challenged Trump's efforts to federalise its National Guard, saying Trump was exaggerating the threat of protests against his immigration policies to justify illegally seizing control of state units.
They argued that Trump's deployment violated several federal laws and the state's sovereign right to police its own citizens.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump repeated his characterisation of Portland as a city overrun by lawlessness.
"You have agitators, insurrectionists," he said.
The Trump administration on Sunday appealed Immergut's decision on the Oregon troops, arguing that the Supreme Court decided 200 years ago that Congress gave the decision on whether to call up National Guard troops to the president.
with EFE and AP