Court allows Trump’s DC National Guard deployment as legal challenges continue
The Trump administration won another legal fight when an appeals court ruled Wednesday that the deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., can continue. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will continue considering the merits of a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s deployment.
The unanimous decision was issued in one of several lawsuits over National Guard deployments. President Donald Trump has ordered the Guard to at least six cities — in most cases, despite the opposition of local leaders — since he began his second term.
What did the judges say?
The three-judge appellate panel said the administration appeared likely to win in this case because of Washington’s unique legal status.
“Because the District of Columbia is a federal district created by Congress, rather than a constitutionally sovereign entity like the 50 states, the defendants appear on this early record likely to prevail on the merits of their argument that the president possesses a unique power within the District — the seat of the federal government — to mobilize the Guard,” the panel wrote.
The judges said Washington’s laws appeared to afford Trump unusual flexibility to deploy the District of Columbia National Guard. The judges noted that temporarily blocking the deployment would cause logistical disruptions if the court later found it lawful.
“The President’s order implicates a strong and distinctive interest in the protection of federal governmental functions and property within the Nation’s capital,” the judges wrote.
A lower court previously ordered the administration to remove National Guard troops from the city.
The D.C. attorney general’s office challenged the National Guard’s presence, telling the court that federal officials had trained National Guard troops how to handcuff and detain residents and how to execute search warrants. The office said this violated the city’s laws prohibiting the military from playing a direct role in law enforcement outside extraordinary circumstances.
D.C. officials also argued that city laws allowed the president to call out the National Guard only during “tumult, riot, mob” or other forms of organized violence. Attorneys said these conditions were never met.
Finally, the lawsuit said the presence of armed troops from states was unlawful, according to The New York Times.
How many troops are in Washington?
According to The Times, because of Washington’s unique status, the White House was able to keep a much larger and more ubiquitous force in place despite legal setbacks.
In addition to the about 900 members of the D.C. National Guard who were initially deployed, Trump has also brought in an additional Guard unit made up of soldiers from 11 Republican-led states, including Georgia, Ohio and West Virginia.
Trump brought in even more troops after two National Guard service members from West Virginia were shot, one of them fatally. The Times reported that nearly 3,200 troops are deployed in the city.
The latest ruling allows them to remain on duty in Washington until late February.
Where has the National Guard deployed?
As part of a crime-fighting initiative and to quell protests against his immigration policies, Trump has sent troops into at least five other cities this year.
In June, Trump deployed at least 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines to Los Angeles following protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in immigrant communities. The administration reassigned about 150 to support the state’s wildfire response in July. However, by September, troops had left the city after a series of legal fights.
National Guard troops deployed to Memphis, Tennessee, in September after Trump ordered the creation of the Memphis Safe Task Force. By October, residents began seeing troops conducting visible patrols alongside local law enforcement. While the deployment remains active, several courts are hearing challenges against it.
Large protests erupted after the Trump administration announced it would deploy troops to Portland, Oregon. Although a federal appeals court sided with the White House, a full deployment never happened. However, 200 Oregon National Guard members are on standby near Portland.
In October, Trump authorized the deployment of 300 Illinois National Guard troops to Chicago. This deployment sparked several court battles, and a federal appeals court blocked the deployment by mid-October. The court found that the White House had overstated its justification for needing troops, explicitly rejecting the claims of “rebellions” in the city.
Most recently, the federal government deployed troops to New Orleans in an attempt to crack down on illegal immigration. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, requested 1,000 troops in September, saying crime had overwhelmed local law enforcement. These troops are expected to stay in the city until Mardi Gras 2026, or late February.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
