Judge Blocks Portland Guard Deployment; Trump Appeals

After a federal judge temporarily blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, President Donald Trump said he might invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act “if people were being killed and courts were holding us up,” and his administration is appealing the ruling while seeking Guard units from other states. Legal challenges from Oregon and Illinois and refusals by some governors to release their Guard forces have set up a courtroom showdown over federalism, separation of powers and when the military may be used on U.S. streets. The Insurrection Act, passed in 1807 and last used in 1992, allows federal troops or federalized Guard to enforce federal law under narrow conditions, and judges have broadened restraining orders to cover cross‑state Guard deployments. Critics and constitutional experts warn the threat to use the Act represents an alarming expansion of presidential power and a possible pretext for authoritarian measures, while the White House says it is acting within its authority to protect federal facilities. The dispute is unfolding alongside other administration tactics — including withholding federal funds from Democratic cities and directing federal forces to some urban areas — intensifying political and legal conflict over domestic use of force.