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A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to halt its ongoing deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital, ruling that President Donald Trump’s months-long military mission unlawfully encroaches on Washington, D.C.’s authority to direct its own law-enforcement operations.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb concluded that while the president may use the Guard to protect federal property and ensure the continuity of federal functions, he cannot unilaterally deploy the D.C. National Guard for crime-fighting purposes or bring in units from other states without local approval. Cobb’s order is paused for 21 days to allow the administration time to appeal.
The lawsuit, filed by District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb, challenged Trump’s sweeping use of Guard forces to patrol city streets, arguing that the deployment amounted to a federal takeover of local policing. Schwalb sought an injunction blocking the president from deploying Guard troops in the district without the mayor’s consent while the case proceeds.
Dozens of states weighed in on the case, splitting largely along partisan lines.
Judge rejects unilateral deployment
In her ruling, Cobb wrote that the president’s emergency authority has limits. “The president may not deploy the District of Columbia National Guard for general crime-control purposes without the approval of local officials,” she found, noting that such action “intrudes on the District’s sovereign interests.”
Schwalb praised the ruling and urged the administration to send the troops home. “Normalizing the use of military troops for domestic law enforcement sets a dangerous precedent,” he said. “The President can disregard states’ independence and deploy troops wherever and whenever he wants — with no check on his military power.”
White House defends the mission
The White House rejected that interpretation, saying Trump acted well within his authority.
“President Trump is well within his lawful authority to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C., to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement with specific tasks,” said spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. “This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of DC residents — to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC.”
Trump declared a crime emergency in August and, within weeks, more than 2,300 Guard members from eight states and the district were patrolling Washington under the command of the Secretary of the Army. Hundreds of federal law-enforcement agents were also deployed.
Nationwide legal battles over troop deployments
The administration has made similar moves outside the capital, sending Guard troops to Los Angeles and attempting deployments in Chicago and Portland, Oregon — actions that have generated multiple court challenges. A federal appeals court upheld the Los Angeles deployment, while a judge in Portland ruled the president lacked authority to deploy Guard troops there, a decision now under appeal.
The Supreme Court is currently weighing the administration’s emergency request to deploy Guard troops in Chicago to aid an immigration crackdown.
Local officials warn of long-term consequences
In Washington, Schwalb’s office said Guard troops could remain in the city through next summer unless courts intervene. “Our constitutional democracy will never be the same if these occupations are permitted to stand,” attorneys wrote.
The administration has deputized Guard members in the capital as special U.S. Marshals Service deputies — a move Schwalb argues unlawfully converts out-of-state Guard units into a federalized police force operating in the district and straining relations with residents.
“Every day that this lawless incursion continues, the District suffers harm to its sovereign authority to conduct local law enforcement as it chooses,” his office wrote.
Justice Department lawyers countered that Congress expressly authorized the president to command the D.C. National Guard. “There is no sensible reason for an injunction unwinding this arrangement now,” government attorneys said.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal Cobb’s ruling.
