White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday called the opinion of the judge who blocked President Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Portland “untethered in reality.”

Ms. Leavitt also said the decision of Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, risked spiraling the country into an unconstitutional form of “martial law.”

“With all due respect to that Judge, I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law. The president is using his authority as commander in chief,” Ms. Leavitt said at a White House press briefing.

She cited U.S. Code 12-406, which allows the President to call National Guard units into federal service to repel invasions, suppress rebellions, or execute the laws of the U.S., when the regular forces are insufficient to do so.

The Trump administration is facing political and legal opposition from Democratic governors who argue that the federal statute also says that these orders are issued through the governors of the states.

Mr. Trump deployed troops following months of protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s regular presence in Portland.

That builds on years of violent protests in the West Coast city, which during the first Trump administration shut down the ICE office for days during one protest.

Ms. Leavitt said, ”If you look at what has happened in Portland, Oregon, for more than 100 Nights, I was talking to our law enforcement team about it this morning, for more than 100 days, night after night after night, the ICE facility has been really under siege by these anarchists outside.”

She added, “They have been disrespecting law enforcement. They’ve been inciting violence. We saw, again, a guillotine rolled out in front of this federal building. And so, the President wants to ensure that our federal buildings and our assets are protected, and that’s exactly what he’s trying to do.”

The judge said the federal government can bear some disruptions, and she said that’s not a justification for the military to get involved.

The president previously deployed troops to Los Angeles in June, citing disruptions of federal immigration enforcement. A district judge halted that, but the ruling was quickly toppled by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Justice Department has appealed Judge Immergut’s ruling to that same appeals court, which covers both California and Oregon.

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.