WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered President Trump to bring his monthslong deployment of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital to an end.
US District Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee, approved Washington, DC’s request for a preliminary injunction on Trump’s deployment of troops to the city after concluding the nation’s capital will likely prevail suit against the president.
Cobb put her ruling on hold until Dec. 11, giving the Trump administration time to appeal.
National Guard troops have been deployed to get a handle on out-of-control crime in Washington. AP
Since Aug. 11, Trump has dispatched over 2,000 National Guard troops as part of an effort to crack down on crime and beautify DC.
“While the President certainly may have some Article II powers to protect federal functioning and property, including in the District, such powers cannot justify the deployment of the DCNG [DC National Guard] in this case,” Cobb wrote in a lengthy opinion.
DC filed a lawsuit against Trump back in September, arguing that his troop deployment was illegal because it did not have Mayor Muriel Bowser’s blessing.
Trump also briefly federalized DC’s Metropolitan Police Department and surged federal law enforcement personnel in the city, who, unlike the National Guard, have the power to arrest. The MPD takeover only lasted 30 days.
Trump has dispatched over 2,000 National Guard troops as part of an effort to crack down on crime and beautify DC. AP
Cobb pointed to the Home Rule Act, which gives DC critical self-governance powers to justify the preliminary injunction.
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“The Court finds that Defendants lack authority under D.C. law to support their deployment of the DCNG and have exceeded the bounds of their statutory authority … in requesting the deployment of out-of-state National Guards,” Cobbs added.
Cobb put her ruling on hold until Dec. 11, giving the Trump administration time to appeal. REUTERS
Attorneys for the Trump administration argued in court that the president’s executive powers gave him control of the local National Guard force and that the city didn’t suffer a serious injury because it cooperated with his team.
Trump has frequently touted his crackdown on crime in DC, which began days after former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee Edward Coristine, also known as “Big Balls,” was beaten up on the city’s streets after intervening in a carjacking. Coristine now works in the Social Security Administration.
Trump also briefly federalized DC’s Metropolitan Police Department and surged federal law enforcement personnel in the city, who, unlike the National Guard, have the power to arrest. REUTERS
“President Trump is well within his lawful authority to deploy the National Guard in Washington, DC, to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement with specific tasks,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Post in response to the judge’s order.
“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 has also begun using his crime crackdown in DC as a model for interventions in cities across the country, having deployed troops in Memphis, Chicago and Portland. The courts have since stymied those deployments.
Trump has also begun using his crime crackdown in DC as a model for interventions in cities across the country, having deployed troops in Memphis, Chicago and Portland. REUTERS
Notably, unlike other cities, the federal government has direct jurisdiction over DC under the Constitution, though it has ceded much of that power under the Home Rule Act.
The Supreme Court is currently mulling whether Trump’s push to deploy the National Guard in Chicago can go forward.