Obama Judge Recuses Himself from Oregon’s National Guard Deployment Lawsuit. Trump appointee Named Successor!

In a highly unusual move, a federal judge on Thursday, October 2, 2025, recused himself from Oregon’s lawsuit against the Trump Administration over the deployment and federalization of a portion of its National Guard to Portland.

The state’s lawsuit aimed to block the President’s order, arguing it was an unlawful use of military force for civilian law enforcement.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon, an Obama appointee to the District of Oregon, recused himself after a request from the Trump Justice Department (DOJ).

The DOJ argued for his recusal due to a conflict of interest involving his wife, Democrat Rep. Suzanne Bonamici.

The Conflict of Interest:

The DOJ filing suggested that Judge Simon recuse himself to “avoid the appearance of partiality.”

This was based on the public statements and actions of his spouse, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), who has been an outspoken opponent of the troop deployment.

Rep. Bonamici had publicly stated she was against the federalization of the National Guard to Portland, including joining Governor Tina Kotek’s press conference and signing a letter with other Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation, rejecting the deployment and calling it a “gross abuse of power.”




Judge Simon’s Response:

In his order on Thursday, Judge Simon stated he did not believe recusal was legally required under federal law or the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. However, he ultimately decided to step aside, noting that it was necessary to ensure “the focus of this lawsuit remain on the critically important constitutional and statutory issues presented by the parties,” rather than on questions of potential bias.
New Judge and Hearing:

The case was randomly reassigned by the court clerk to U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut.

Judge Immergut is a Trump appointee (2019) and the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon under President George W. Bush.

A hearing for the State of Oregon’s request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to immediately block the deployment is scheduled for Friday, October 3, at 10 am PST.

The state’s suit argues the order violates the Constitution and laws like the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement.

Context of the Deployment and Lawsuit:

The controversy began the previous weekend, when President Trump authorized the deployment of 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to Portland, Oregon.

This was framed as necessary to protect ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents and federal facilities from what he described in a social media post as “Antifa terrorists and other radical far-left groups,” calling Portland “War ravaged.”

The authorization memo was signed by the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and referenced Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem.

Right on cue, Democrat-run Oregon—spearheaded by Governor Tina Kotek and Attorney General Dan Rayfield—sued the Trump Administration to stop the federalization of the National Guard.

Governor Kotek openly declared war on the President’s plan to restore order, telling the President to “stand down” and keep federal troops out.

Kotek and other local leaders dismissed the President’s portrayal of the city as “wildly hyperbolic” and “pure fiction,” arguing that local law enforcement had the capacity to manage small, recent protests outside the ICE facility.

They also pointed out that the protests cited by the administration were a mix of recent low-key demonstrations and older, intense 2020 protests.