By Oregon Public Broadcasting

President Donald Trump can retain control of some Oregon National Guard troops currently under his command, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Wednesday afternoon, but still cannot deploy them.

The order from the appellate court capped an afternoon of conflicting statements between Oregon officials and the U.S. military about whether all 200 Oregon National Guard troops the president controversially ordered into federal service were returning to state control by week’s end.

About an hour before the court’s decision, Gov. Tina Kotek announced all remaining federalized members of the Oregon National Guard would be demobilized by Friday. The governor’s office said Kotek received a “verbal demobilization order from the U.S. Northern Command.”

The 200 Oregon National Guard troops were first called into service by Trump on Sept. 28, over the governor’s objections, in response to ongoing protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland. The troop’s federalization and deployment has been the subject of several legal challenges.

“I am relieved that all 200 Oregon citizen-soldiers are finally heading home,” Kotek said in Wednesday’s statement. “They spent nearly 50 days away from their families, friends, and civilian jobs on an unnecessary mission that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.”

By day’s end that information would change.

After Kotek’s news release, OPB contacted Northern Command, where a U.S. military press official expressed confusion over the governor’s announcement, and said 100 Oregon guard members remain federalized.

“We, U.S. Northern Command, are aware of the governor’s release and we stand by our statement,” spokesperson Rebecca Farmer said Wednesday afternoon.

Farmer pointed to Northern Command’s website, which lists the status of National Guard troop deployments across the country and said it was updated an hour before Kotek’s statement. In Oregon, it says 100 members of the state’s guard have been demobilized and are being sent to Texas to complete that process.

The remaining 100 soldiers are still in Oregon, and “remain activated,” she told OPB, and said they were trying to “untangle” Kotek’s statement.

OPB also reached out to the Oregon Military Department for clarification, which directed all inquiries about the federalized guard troops to U.S. Northern Command.

“The Oregon Military Department received notice from the U.S. Northern Command for mobilized Oregon troops to prepare for one of two outcomes,” Adjutant General Gronewold said in a statement, “either demobilize or remain in a federal status.”

The governor also issued a statement, demanding President Trump send Oregon’s troops home.

“This is deeply disheartening and frustrating – on behalf of their families, their employers, and the taxpayers footing the bill,” Kotek said.

Will hear case again

Wednesday’s order from the 9th Circuit is largely administrative and intends to maintain the status quo before they take up an appeal over the Oregon National Guard’s deployment.

After weeks of legal back and forth — including a three-day trial in late October — U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut issued a permanent injunction Nov. 7 that blocked the troop deployment.

As part of her ruling, Immergut ordered any federalized Oregon National Guard troops to be returned to state control by Friday, Nov. 21. The order from the 9th Circuit on Wednesday put that portion on hold, while the bulk of Immergut’s injunction remains in effect.

The 9th Circuit also agreed to hear the Trump administration’s appeal. They also agreed with Oregon, California and the city of Portland to merge this latest appeal with an existing one, meaning the case will be heard by a large panel of judges, known as an “en banc.”

As part of Wednesday’s order, the appeals court also directed the federal government to file weekly reports “regarding the current status of any federalized Oregon National Guard, including updates on the defederalization of any troops.”

Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a similar case about the president’s efforts to deploy the National Guard to Chicago. The 9th Circuit said they would wait to hear Oregon’s case after the high court decides the case out of Illinois.

In the emergency appeal to the 9th Circuit on Sunday, attorneys for the Trump administration said they were planning to extend the Oregon National Guard’s deployment.

This will be the second time the legality of the Oregon National Guard’s federalization has gone before the 9th Circuit. In October, a three-judge panel issued a split decision, siding with the Trump administration. The ruling paved the way for the guard to deploy, but was quickly vacated when the appeals court agreed to rehear the case en banc. That case, and this latest appeal, are the two merged by Wednesday’s order.

“The most important effect of today’s Ninth Circuit order is that National Guard troops can’t be deployed in Portland,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said Wednesday evening. “We appreciate that the court is proceeding carefully and thoughtfully in this case.”