California National Guard stand in formation guarding the federal building in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
Eric Thayer / AP
Federalized members of the California National Guard who deployed to Oregon on orders from President Donald Trump are set to return home “in the coming days,” according to a military official who was not authorized to speak on the record. OPB also confirmed the return with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office.
The military official said all 200 California guard members who came to Oregon would be returning home soon, but 100 of them would remain under the president’s control. While in the state, the troops have been staying at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas County. The news of their return was first reported by ABC.
“Donald Trump — our mentally ill president — never should have illegally deployed our troops in the first place. We’re glad they’re finally coming home. It’s long overdue!” a spokesperson for Newsom’s office said in an email Sunday.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek also confirmed Monday that 100 members of her state’s National Guard would demobilize, but another 100 who had been federalized would remain under the president’s control. She said the California troops were slated to return home Monday.
“President Trump’s disregard for the rule of law has real human consequences. Members of the Oregon National Guard, who are our friends and neighbors, have been away from their families and jobs for 50 days on an unnecessary deployment. With the holidays approaching, every single member deserves to go home,” Kotek said in a statement.
The president first dispatched California troops, who had been federalized under Title 10 in June to deal with protests in Los Angeles, because of alleged chaos at protests outside Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. The deployment followed news reports on Fox News that erroneously used footage of 2020 protests in Portland and misleadingly portrayed them as representative of ongoing ICE protests.
The Oregon Military Department, which oversees the National Guard, referred questions on troop deployments to U.S. Northern Command.
Northern Command indicated in a social media post on Friday that it was planning changes to the “Title 10 footprint in Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago.” In that same post, the military command said it wanted to maintain a “long-term presence in each city.”
NORTHCOM, under the direction from the Department of War, is constantly refining and improving our plans and capabilities to defend the Homeland. Our work to protect federal functions, personnel, and property remains a top priority — each and every day. We are prepared to commit…
— U.S. Northern Command (@USNorthernCmd) November 15, 2025
It was not immediately clear if there would be changes in the number of Oregon National Guard members who are federalized under Title 10.
Federal courts have repeatedly rejected the president’s assertions that protests outside the Portland building are so uncontrollable that National Guard members are required.
U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 4 that prevented Trump from deploying the Oregon National Guard after they had been federalized. Around the time of that order, nine members of the Oregon guard traveled to the ICE facility and conducted a shift, a fact revealed in ongoing legal proceedings over the federalized troops.
California troops never performed duties while in Oregon. Still, California Deputy Attorney General Jane Reilley argued in federal court in October that both states had their rights violated when Trump took command of National Guard members over the objections of Kotek and Newsom.
Following weeks of back-and-forth legal rulings and appeals, Immergut issued a permanent injunction on Nov. 7, preventing the National Guard from being further deployed. The Trump administration filed court documents Friday indicating it plans to again appeal Immergut’s order.
The military official who spoke to OPB said that removing the California guard members likely would have needed approval from U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
The New York Times reported that 200 Texas National Guard members who had been sent to Chicago would also be returning to their home state. The decision to remove the troops was made in part because the deployments would leave the guard members with little to do and separated from their families during the holidays, according to the Times.
OPB’s Troy Brynelson contributed to this story.
