MAGA calls for Trump to overrule judges on National Guard deployments
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Federal agents deploy a smoke grenade outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Oct. 4 in Portland, Ore. Photo: Spencer Platt via Getty Images
MAGA leaders are demanding the White House ignore court rulings against National Guard deployments, threatening a constitutional showdown over the president's authority to send troops into U.S. cities.
Why it matters: The backlash reveals how deeply President Trump's base has embraced the idea that court rulings — even from Trump-appointed judges — should not constrain his powers as commander-in-chief.
- Earlier this year, MAGA activists railed against district-court judges who used nationwide injunctions to block Trump administration policies, culminating in a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed that tool.
- Now, the movement is going further — urging the White House to disregard court rulings entirely as Trump pushes to deploy the National Guard in cities like Chicago and Portland, Ore.
Driving the news: On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut blocked Trump from federalizing the Oregon National Guard for the stated purpose of protecting immigration officers from violent protesters in Portland.
- Immergut — a Trump appointee — wrote that the administration's rationale for deploying troops to the city, which Trump has repeatedly described as a "war zone," was "untethered to facts" on the ground.
- The administration then sought to sidestep the ruling by ordering National Guard units from California and Texas to Portland — a move Immergut again blocked, calling it a "direct contravention" of her order.
What they're saying: MAGA influencers erupted over the dual rulings, declaring that "activist judges" were subverting Trump's constitutional authority as commander-in-chief.
- "We have long reached the point where Trump needs to openly defy these judges. Some random federal judge has no authority to decide how and if troops are deployed," The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh posted.
- "At some point in time, the administration is going to have to tell these judges to go pound sand, or else we're not going to be seeing the promises fulfilled," MAGA enforcer Laura Loomer said in an interview with Axios.
The White House has so far indicated it will abide by the rulings as the appeals process played out, but its rhetoric toward the judiciary has grown increasingly hostile.
- "We have seen over the last nine months an ongoing legal insurrection in which district court judges ... have issued rulings that are flagrantly unlawful and unconstitutional," deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters Monday.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Immergut's decision "untethered in reality and the law," arguing that federal facilities in Portland have been "under siege" for months.
The big picture: MAGA's escalating attacks on the judiciary mark a new phase in the movement's broader campaign to expand presidential power and erode traditional checks on the executive branch.
- The base is eager to seize on a moment of unified government in Washington, even if it means defying a co-equal branch of government — and with no concern about future precedents.
- "We didn't see this under the Biden administration, because it's a rigged system," Loomer said when asked if she was concerned a Democratic president might one day defy judicial orders. "They're not serving as judges, they're serving as activists."
What to watch: Illinois sued the Trump administration on Monday to block the deployment of federalized National Guard units to Chicago, potentially setting the stage for another judicial clash.
Go deeper: Trump floats Insurrection Act use amid National Guard standoff with states
