--- title: Newsom Celebrates Legal Win Over Trump With Explicit Song description: “A federal judge blocked Trump’s unlawful attempt to deploy 300 of our National Guard troops to Portland," said Newsom. canonical: https://time.com/7323455/newsom-legal-win-trump-national-guard-deployment-democratic-cities/ author: Callum Sutherland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-10-06T11:55:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T08:11:48.230Z article:section: Politics og:title: Newsom Celebrates Legal Win Over Trump With Explicit Song og:description: “A federal judge blocked Trump’s unlawful attempt to deploy 300 of our National Guard troops to Portland," said Newsom. og:url: https://time.com/7323455/newsom-legal-win-trump-national-guard-deployment-democratic-cities/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb09029d94d56b0ab/6998ca6da97fc08465a74c08/GettyImages-2195134171.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1748 og:image:height: 983 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2195134171 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Newsom Celebrates Legal Win Over Trump With Explicit Song twitter:description: “A federal judge blocked Trump’s unlawful attempt to deploy 300 of our National Guard troops to Portland," said Newsom. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb09029d94d56b0ab/6998ca6da97fc08465a74c08/GettyImages-2195134171.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Newsom Lauds Legal Victory Over Trump, But Deployment Battle Looks Far From Over > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ca63e133-e2b1-4f6e-bf72-833af145fbb2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Signals Greater Use of Military in U.S. Cities, Warning of ‘War From Within’ [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Signals Greater Use of Military in U.S. Cities, Warning of ‘War From Within’](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BmkbO8mb.m3u8) (3:54)  _Published 2025-09-30. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signaled that he would make greater use of the U.S. military to quell disturbances in Democratic-run cities across the United States, warning of a “war from within” and comparing domestic threats to foreign enemies._ by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Oct 6, 2025 11:55 AM UTC President Donald Trump on Tuesday signaled that he would make greater use of the U.S. military to quell disturbances in Democratic-run cities across the United States, warning of a “war from within” and comparing domestic threats to foreign enemies. by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Oct 6, 2025 11:55 AM UTC California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom is celebrating his latest legal victory over President Donald Trump’s Administration after a federal judge blocked the President from sending any [National Guard troops](https://time.com/7323334/ice-raid-chicago-pritzker-trump/), including ones from California, to police Portland, Oregon. “We just won in court—again,” Newsom said late Sunday night. “A federal judge blocked Trump’s unlawful attempt to deploy 300 of our National Guard troops to Portland. The court granted our request for a temporary restraining order, halting any federalization, relocation, or deployment of any guard members to Oregon from any state.” Signing off the note, Newsom—[who has a contentious history](https://time.com/7314134/newsom-legal-action-against-trump-threat/) with the President—vowed: “Trump’s abuse of power won’t stand.” Newsom accompanied the [online statement](https://www.instagram.com/p/DPdFBcEjsOX/?hl=en) with an explicit song choice—Dr. Dre’s “F\*ck You”—and encouraged readers to have the “sound on.” Federal judge Karin Immergut put the temporary block on any National Guard deployment just hours after [blocking Trump from](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-temporarily-blocks-trump-administration-deploying-national-guard-2025-10-04/) using Oregon National Guard troops in Portland. Both California and Oregon had [sued](https://x.com/GavinNewsom/status/1974892483994939592) to block the move. “How could bringing in a federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention to the temporary restraining order I issued yesterday?” Immergut queried of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Hamilton on Sunday. “Aren’t defendants simply circumventing my order?... Why is this appropriate?” she questioned. Immergut's ruling is set to remain in effect until at least Oct. 19, with California and Oregon both moving toward obtaining a longer-term ruling. The Trump Administration appealed Immergut's initial decision regarding the Oregon troops on Sunday, arguing that the judge had "impermissibly second-guessed the Commander-in-Chief's military judgments." “The facts haven’t changed: President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in a statement to TIME on Monday morning. The legal battle over the deployment of troops is gaining steam against the backdrop of the [government shutdown](https://time.com/7322235/government-shutdown-republican-democrat-lawmakers-react-blame-game/), which has entered its second week and has only exacerbated tensions between the Trump Administration and Democrat-run cities. Prior to the temporary block against the Trump Administration, Illinois’ Gov. JB Pritzker said that Trump was attempting to deploy 400 troops from the Texas National Guard to Portland, as well as his own state [which has seen major clashes](https://time.com/7323334/ice-raid-chicago-pritzker-trump/) over the weekend resulting from ICE officials conducting military-style mass raids. “No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate,” [said Pritzker](https://x.com/GovPritzker/status/1975013177026109717), who earlier argued that Trump is "attempting to manufacture a crisis." Gov. [Greg Abbott of Texas responded](https://x.com/GregAbbott%5FTX/status/1975027635295007073), saying: “You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let \[the\] Texas Guard do it.” Following the ruling, [Newsom’s press office sent a mocking reply](https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/1975042323907231981) Abbott’s way. “Sorry, Champ—the Constitution’s in your way! A respected federal judge just ruled you can’t send your troops to Oregon,” the statement read.  Federal agents, including members of the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and the police, attempt to keep protesters back outside a downtown U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Oct. 5, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. Spencer Platt—Getty Images Trump’s focus on Portland intensified over a week ago after he deployed troops to the city, claiming that it was “war-ravaged” and that ICE centers and personnel were under attack. It was the latest move in his targeting of Democratic-run cities, many of which he claims are crime-ridden. [Mayor Keith Wilson](https://time.com/7322337/portland-troops-mayor-trump-deploys-national-guard/) has insisted that the city “doesn’t need nor want” federal troops. “The fight the federal Administration seeks is not in our city, and I call on our national leaders to chart a course that leads to our future, and not to further fear and division,” said Wilson. The Trump Administration has faced numerous legal battles and blockings since it began its campaign of deploying National Guard troops without the request, or approval, of state leaders. **Read More**: [_Trump Sparks Backlash as National Guard Arrives in L.A. on His Orders to Quell Immigration Protests_](https://time.com/7291978/los-angeles-immigration-protests-trump-national-guard-deployed-newsom-backlash/) In September, Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Federal District Court in San Francisco delivered Newsom a legal triumph over Trump when he ruled that [the President broke federal law](https://time.com/7313929/trump-national-guard-la-los-angeles-marines-judge-ruling/) when he sent thousands of National Guard members and Marines into Los Angeles earlier in the summer during protests related to ICE raids. After Judge Breyer’s decision, Newsom said that he would [continue his legal battle](https://time.com/7314134/newsom-legal-action-against-trump-threat/) against Trump, who had extended the federalization and deployment of the National Guard in California until Nov. 5, when a [statewide general election](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/general-election-nov-5-2024) will take place. “There was never a need—and there is certainly no need now—for troops to be deployed against their own communities,” said Newsom, [arguing](https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/1963007465290866871) that “Trump can't justify keeping the military in Los Angeles… We won't back down.” Trump’s move to deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles marked the first time a President deployed those troops without a request from the state Governor since 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent federal troops to Alabama to protect those partaking in a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, led by Martin Luther King Jr. Trump’s [directive](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/department-of-defense-security-for-the-protection-of-department-of-homeland-security-functions/) in Los Angeles, though, was for the deployed troops to “perform military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the protection and safety of federal personnel and property.” ## Transcript [00:00] I'm thrilled to be here this morning to address the senior leadership [00:04] of what is once again known around the world as the Department of War. [00:09] Together with many of you in the room, [00:12] we've brought back the fundamental principle that [00:15] defending the homeland is the military's first and most important priority. [00:19] That's what it is. [00:21] Only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe that [00:24] our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia, [00:29] while America is under invasion from within. [00:32] We're under invasion from within. [00:35] No different than a foreign enemy, [00:39] but more difficult in many ways because they don't wear uniforms. [00:43] At least when they're wearing a uniform, you can take them out. [00:46] These people don't have uniforms. [00:48] But we are under invasion from within. [00:50] We're stopping it very quickly. [00:52] After spending trillions of dollars defending [00:55] the borders of foreign countries, with your help, [00:58] we're defending the borders of our country from now on, [01:03] but we're running it based on common sense and based on love of our country. [01:07] But I want to salute every service member who [01:09] has helped us carry out this critical mission. [01:12] It's really a very important mission. [01:13] And I told Pete we should use some of these dangerous cities [01:17] as training grounds for our military National Guard, [01:20] but military, because we're going into Chicago very soon. [01:24] That's a big city with an incompetent governor. Stupid governor. [01:28] Stupid. We have many cities in great shape too, by the way. [01:31] I want you to know that. [01:32] But it seems that the ones that are run by the radical left Democrats, [01:37] what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, [01:40] New York, Los Angeles, [01:43] they're very unsafe places. [01:45] And we're going to straighten them out one by one. [01:47] And this is going to be a major part for [01:49] some of the people in this room. That's a war, too. [01:51] It's a war from within Portland, Oregon, [01:54] where it looks like a war zone and I get a call from the liberal governor. [02:00] Sir, please don't come in. [02:02] We don't need you, I said, well, [02:03] unless they're playing false tapes, [02:05] this looked like World War two. [02:08] Your place is burning down. [02:11] I mean, you must be kidding, [02:13] sir. We have it under control. [02:14] I said you don't have it under control, [02:16] governor, but I'll check it and I'll call you back. [02:19] I called her back. I said you, you. [02:21] This place is a nightmare. [02:23] We're investing tens of billions of dollars in [02:26] modernizing our nuclear deterrence capabilities like never before. [02:31] And we've begun construction on what we call the Golden Dome missile defense shield. [02:35] It'll be the most sophisticated in the world. [02:37] You watched it do well until they had some problems at the end with [02:42] a little bit of a lack of ammunition, defensive ammunition. [02:49] But they've got that taken care of. [02:52] But I tell you, it's what we're doing is so good and we deserve it. [02:56] You know, we help other countries with it. [02:57] We don't have it ourselves. [02:59] And Canada called me a couple of weeks ago. [03:02] They want to be part of it. [03:04] To which I said, well, why don't you just join our country? [03:07] You become 51, become the 51st state, [03:10] and you get it for free. [03:12] Now we are discovering American muscle, reasserting American might, [03:16] and beginning the next story chapter in American military legends and lore. [03:24] That's l o r. We will vanquish [03:28] every danger and crush every threat to our freedom in every generation to come. [03:33] Because we will fight, fight, [03:35] fight and we will win, win, win. [03:38] I want to just thank you once again. [03:41] And God bless the United States military and God bless America. [03:45] God bless you all. Thank you very much. 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