US appeals court says Trump can take command of Oregon troops though deployment blocked for now

By CLAIRE RUSH and GENE JOHNSON PORTLAND Ore AP An appeals court on Monday put on hold a lower court ruling that kept President Donald Trump from taking command of Oregon National Guard troops However Trump is still barred from certainly deploying those troops at least for now Related Articles United States and Australia sign critical-minerals agreement as a way to counter China Authorities shutdown imperils dozens of Head Start preschool programs Appellate judges question moves to keep Alina Habba in place as top New Jersey prosecutor US envoys arrive in Israel to shore up the Gaza truce after violence flares How military s safe plan to fire munitions over Interstate in California went off the rails U S District Judge Karin Immergut issued two temporary restraining orders early this month one that prohibited Trump from calling up the troops so he could send them to Portland and another that prohibited him from sending any National Guard members to Oregon at all after the president tried to evade the first order by deploying California troops instead The Justice Department appealed the first order and in a - ruling Monday a panel from the th U S Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the administration The majority mentioned the president was likely to succeed on his claim that he had the authority to federalize the troops based on a determination he was unable to enforce the laws without them However Immergut s second order remains in effect so no troops may at once be deployed The administration has reported that because the legal reasoning underpinning both temporary restraining orders was the same it will now ask Immergut to dissolve her second order and allow Trump to deploy troops to Portland The Justice Department argued that it is not the role of the courts to second-guess the president s determination about when to deploy troops Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield a Democrat disclosed he would ask for a broader panel of the appeals to reconsider the decision The present day s ruling if allowed to stand would give the president unilateral power to put Oregon soldiers on our streets with almost no justification Rayfield announced We are on a dangerous path in America The Justice Department did not this instant return an email seeking comment Law enforcement officers watch as the gates close at a U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility as people protest outside on Saturday Oct in Portland Ore AP Photo Jenny Kane Trump s efforts to deploy National Guard troops in Democratic-led cities have been mired in legal challenges A judge in California ruled that his deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act a longstanding law that generally prohibits the use of the military for civilian policing and the administration on Friday urged the U S Supreme Court to allow the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago area Mostly small nightly protests limited to a single block have been occurring since June outside the U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland Larger crowds including counter-protesters and live-streamers have shown up at times and federal agents have used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators The administration has declared the troops are needed to protect federal property from protesters and that having to send extra Department of Homeland Shield agents to help guard the property meant they were not enforcing immigration laws elsewhere Law enforcement officers watch from a ledge on the a U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility at right as people in costumes protest on Saturday Oct in Portland Ore AP Photo Jenny Kane Immergut previously rejected the administration s arguments saying the president s declares about Portland being war-torn are entirely untethered to the facts But the appeals court majority Ryan Nelson and Bridget Bade both Trump appointees stated the president s decision was owed more deference Bade wrote that the facts appeared to sponsorship Trump s decision even if the President may exaggerate the extent of the predicament on social media Judge Susan Graber an appointee of former President Bill Clinton appointee dissented She urged her colleagues on the th Circuit to to vacate the majority s order before the illegal deployment of troops under false pretenses can occur Law enforcement officers walk back to a U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility as people protest on Saturday Oct in Portland Ore AP Photo Jenny Kane In the two weeks leading up to the President s September social media post there had not been a single development of protesters disrupting the execution of the laws Graber wrote It is hard to understand how a tiny protest causing no disruptions could possibly satisfy the standard that the President is unable to execute the laws Johnson shared from Seattle