Portland troop deployment by Trump draws response from Seattle leaders

Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times on Sep 29, 2025

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SEATTLE — Seattle and Washington leaders say they’re preparing for the city to be the next target of President Donald Trump’s escalating orders deploying troops to Democratic-led cities.

Slamming Trump’s weekend announcement he’ll send troops to Portland, Oregon, with authorization to use “full force, if necessary,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and state Attorney General Nick Brown said at a Monday news conference they’re readying legal challenges and other steps if Seattle becomes the next target.

Harrell urged Trump to not send troops to the city, saying there is no crisis that justifies putting “armored vehicles, semi-automatic weapons” and military personnel on the streets.

“There is not an insurrection here,” Harrell said, saying Trump’s heavy-handed crackdown on U.S. cities “only serves to escalate tensions” and “breed mistrust.”

“Our message today is very clear: Stay out of Seattle,” Harrell said at the City Hall news conference.

Trump’s order for military deployment in Portland came over the weekend in a social media post in which he said he was directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to send troops into what he called “War ravaged Portland,” citing protesters at ICE facilities.

The full extent of the military deployment was unclear as of Monday. So far, Hegseth had ordered 200 Oregon National Guard troops to be placed under federal control and mobilized in Portland, according to The Oregonian.

Brown slammed Trump for baselessly amping up tensions with the Portland move, which followed similar orders for Washington D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles.

“There is no force in American politics that is more reckless and destructive than the current president of the United States,” Brown said, accusing Trump of an expanding authoritarian agenda that targets political opponents.

Trump’s Portland order — posted on Truth Social as the president was at his private Virginia golf club — took Pentagon officials by surprise and they were seeking clarification of its aims, The Washington Post reported.

Brown and Harrell said they have had no contact with the Trump administration on specific plans to deploy troops in Seattle or Washington state.

But they said Trump has not consulted with other cities before dictating similar orders. Meanwhile, there has been a drumbeat among Trump allies and conservative media outlets for a federal crackdown on Seattle.

Harrell pointed to the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who suggested in August the federal government should take over law enforcement in “craphole cities” like Portland and Seattle.

“The fact of the matter is here, crime is down, safety is up,” Harrell said.

The news conference Monday was heavy on pushback but light on specifics as Trump has so far not announced a deployment to Seattle.

Brown said the shape of any legal challenge to a National Guard or other military deployment will depend on the specifics of what is ordered.

He acknowledged the president has “massive authority — and rightly so” to mobilize the National Guard or use the military “to respond to threats, both foreign and domestic.” But, Brown said, the law requires “procedural steps” such as consultation with governors.

A federal judge ruled this month the Trump administration “willfully” broke federal law by sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June after protests over immigration raids. The White House plans to appeal the decision.

Harrell said he will issue an executive order within a few days detailing the city’s plan to protect residents and coordinate with state and local law enforcement in the event of a military deployment here.

He said he has had “several conversations” with Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. Harrell said he had also been in regular touch with Gov. Bob Ferguson, who did not attend the news conference.

Ferguson is out of the state through Oct. 9, according to his office. He’s on vacation this week and then will attend a conference and meetings on the East Coast, a spokesperson said.

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