(MENAFN) A US appeals court has authorized President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, overturning a lower court’s order that had blocked the move.

The ruling granted a Justice Department request to suspend an earlier injunction while ongoing legal challenges proceed, allowing around 200 troops to be sent to safeguard federal buildings. City and state leaders have opposed the decision, arguing that Portland does not require federal intervention.

Portland joins several Democratic-led cities—including Washington, DC, and Los Angeles—that Trump has targeted for troop deployment as part of a broader initiative to combat what he describes as rising crime and unrest.

The San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued Monday’s ruling, stating that Trump’s plan to send troops for a 60-day period represented a “measured response.” The three-judge panel split 2–1, with both judges supporting Trump having been nominated by him, and the dissenting judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton.

Earlier this month, US District Judge Karen Immergut had issued a temporary restraining order preventing Trump from using the Oregon National Guard. Hours later, she blocked another attempt to deploy units from the Texas National Guard in their place.

Federal prosecutors argued that troops were needed to help manage ongoing protests near a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, where clashes between demonstrators and federal agents have occasionally turned violent.

Following the appellate ruling, the White House said, “As we have always maintained, President Trump is exercising his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel following violent riots that local leaders have refused to address.” It added that the decision “reaffirms that the lower court's ruling was unlawful and incorrect.”

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield condemned the judgment, warning that it grants “the president unilateral power to put Oregon soldiers on our streets with almost no justification.” He added, “We are on a dangerous path in America,” and called on other judges to “vacate the majority's order before the illegal deployment of troops under false pretenses can occur.”

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