The federal judge overseeing a lawsuit to block the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops to Portland agreed Thursday to recuse himself after attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice questioned his ability to appear impartial.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon’s spouse, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, is a Democrat in Congress.
FILE - Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, a federal courthouse in Portland, Ore., July, 2023.
Caden Perry / OPB
Attorneys for the government argued in a court filing submitted Thursday that Bonamici has pushed back against President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize 200 Oregon National Guard troops to guard federal property in Portland, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Building south of downtown.
“To be sure, Defendants recognize that Judge Simon and Representative Bonamici speak for themselves, not for each other,” the Justice Department filing stated. “Nonetheless, 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.”
In response, Simon issued a brief order stating he “does not believe that recusal is required under either federal law” or a code of conduct for federal judges. Simon said “because it is necessary that the focus of this lawsuit remain on the critically important constitutional and statutory issues presented by the parties” he would step aside. The judge noted the Justice Department raised the issue three days after an initial hearing and less than 24 hours before a hearing Friday on a restraining order to block the deployment.
The case was randomly reassigned by the court clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut, who was appointed by Trump in 2019 after serving as U.S. attorney for Oregon under former President George W. Bush.
Simon was appointed in 2011 by former President Barack Obama.
In their filing earlier Thursday, attorneys for the Department of Justice cited a letter Bonamici signed along with other Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation.
“We write to reject your decision to deploy troops to Portland, Oregon,” the Sept. 27 letter states. “We urge you to rescind this decision, and withdraw any military personnel and federal agents you have recently sought to deploy.”
Related: Over 100 Oregon leaders call on Trump to withdraw plans to send troops to Portland
On Saturday, the day before Portland and the state filed a lawsuit to block the troop deployment, Bonamici also appeared at a news conference with Gov. Tina Kotek “on the very subject of this suit,” attorneys for the Justice Department argued.
During the news conference, the congresswoman called Trump’s decision “a gross abuse of power” and said the president did not have the authority to send troops to Portland.
“I was at the ICE facility a couple of days ago,” Bonamici said Saturday. “I was in Portland yesterday on the east side for a meeting and last night for an event. Nowhere did I see one single indication that we need military troops here. I strongly oppose this action by the president.”
On Sunday, Kotek, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced a lawsuit and later a temporary restraining order that asked a federal judge to block the deployment.
The case was assigned to Simon, who had been set to preside over a hearing on the temporary restraining order Friday. He will no longer preside in that role, but as of Thursday afternoon that hearing was still on the court’s calendar for Friday.
Through a spokesperson, Bonamici declined to comment.
