Judge blocks Trump’s federalization of Portland

Donald Trump is in the middle of a massive feud with two different states.

Trump has likened both Portland and Chicago to war zones, and he is not wrong, at least in my opinion.

But he is also in a big fight with Portland regarding ICE protests, and a judge just handcuffed him in that fight.

Chicago’s War Zone

Trump often speaks in hyperbole, but calling Chicago a war zone is not an exaggeration, at least in my opinion.

On Friday night alone, there were more than a dozen shootings, with four of them being fatally wounded.

Trump has offered federal help, and it was refused. Now, Trump is telling Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to order the Guard activated, or he will federalize the city.

The governor, of course, has declined, saying that everything is just fine in his state, but that is clearly not the case.

Blocked

This has been Trump’s approach since he decided to step in to address the crime issue in DC earlier this year. Trump federalized the city, but he saw resistance from the lower courts along the way.

For instance, District Judge Ana Reyes, appointed by former President Joe Biden, claimed that the DOJ’s move to try to replace the local police chief with a federal officer was a violation of federal law.

Section 740 of the Home Rule Act does allow the president to use the Metro Police Department for federal law enforcement purposes, but it does not cede control of leadership to federal authorities.

To that point, the judge stated, “You’re making the argument that the president can basically run the entire police department based on language that doesn’t even allow the president to talk to the police department.”

Denied Again

Just as Trump has problems in DC and Illinois, he is having problems in Portland.

Trump’s efforts to federalize “war-ravaged” Portland were just blocked by an Oregon judge who was appointed by Trump.

Judge Karin Immergut ruled, "This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs. This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law."

Her ruling hits home for me, and I know that will not be a popular opinion among our MAGA readers, but I still stand by my stance that we should not be activating our military in American cities. Offer the help, and when it’s refused, make sure everyone in the state knows that you tried to help and Dems refused to let you. A military occupation of a city is a hard sell to the American people.