A federal judge recused himself on Oct. 2 from Oregon’s lawsuit over President Donald Trump’s plan to federalize Oregon National Guard troops to deal with civil unrest outside federal immigration facilities in Portland.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed suit against the Trump administration on Sept. 28 after the president said he would send troops to defend immigration facilities in Portland from “domestic terrorists.” The state is asking the federal district court to find the deployment unlawful and block it, saying Trump was exaggerating the threat of protests to justify taking control over state National Guard troops.

On Sept. 28, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum to the leadership of the Oregon National Guard requesting that 200 service members be temporarily moved to federal service, as allowed under Title 10 of the U.S. Code.

“200 members of the Oregon National Guard will be called into Federal service effective immediately for a period of 60 days,” the memo from Hegseth reads.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon disqualified himself from the case hours after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed papers with the court stating that Simon’s wife, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), publicly criticized the president’s plan.

At a press conference with Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), Bonamici said Trump’s plan to take over National Guard troops was a “gross abuse of power” and that “no military is welcome or needed here,” DOJ said.

The department said, “the unique factual, legal, and political role that Judge Simon’s spouse has played in the central events of this lawsuit may create the appearance of partiality.”

DOJ said it was not arguing that Simon “necessarily shares his spouse’s views,” but was saying another judge may be in a better position to take on the case without raising questions about potential bias.

Simon issued an order on Oct. 2 saying that he was recusing himself, even though, in his opinion, recusal is not required under federal law or the Code of Conduct for United States Judges.

The judge said he agreed to remove himself from the case “because it is necessary that the focus of this lawsuit remain on the critically important constitutional and statutory issues presented by the parties.”

Simon said the court clerk notified him that the case had been randomly reassigned to U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, who will move forward with a hearing in the case at 10 a.m. on Oct. 3.

The White House said earlier this week that Trump is legally permitted to act, citing months of violent unrest outside federal immigration facilities in Portland.

“President Trump is using his lawful authority to direct the National Guard to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following months of violent riots where officers have been assaulted and doxxed by left-wing rioters,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Epoch Times.

“The President’s lawful actions will make Portland safer.”

Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump’s decisions to deploy National Guard troops to cities such as the nation’s capital, Los Angeles, and Memphis, Tennessee, have also met with legal challenges.

Reuters and Melanie Sun contributed to this report.

This article by Matthew Vadum appeared Oct. 3, 2025, in The Epoch Times.