Court OKs Oregon troop deployment

Ninth Circuit panel rules that Trump may order the National Guard to Portland.

- BY SONJA SHARP

POLICE AND federal officers throw gas canisters to disperse protesters near an ICE facility in Portland, Ore.

(ETHAN SWOPE Associated Press)

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed command of Oregon National Guard troops to the president Monday, further raising the stakes in the ongoing multi-front judicial battle over military deployments to cities across the U.S.

A three-judge appellate panel—including two members appointed by Trump during his first term—found that the law “does not limit the facts and circumstances that the President may consider” when deciding whether to dispatch soldiers domestically.

The judges found that when ordering a deployment, “The President has the authority to identify and weigh the relevant facts.”

The ruling was a stark contrast to a lower-court judge's finding earlier this month.