Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s National Guard Deployment in Washington, D.C.

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., marking a significant -- though provisional -- legal setback to his broader push to send military forces into American cities despite objections from local leaders.

 

US District Judge Jia Cobb, appointed by former President Joe Biden, ruled that the administration cannot deploy National Guard troops to enforce laws in the capital without approval from the city’s mayor. However, she placed her own order on hold until December 11, giving the Trump administration time to appeal.

 

The case forms part of a wider wave of legal challenges across the country, as Trump continues to test longstanding restrictions -- rooted in the US Constitution and the Posse Comitatus Act --which sharply limit the use of federal troops in civilian law enforcement. While Washington, D.C. is not a state and grants the president certain unique powers, local officials argue that Trump exceeded those limits and undermined the mayor’s authority as the city’s primary policing power.

 

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the deployment as lawful, calling the lawsuit an attempt to obstruct the administration’s efforts to curb violent crime. Meanwhile, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who filed the suit on September 4, warned that allowing such deployments would create a dangerous precedent by eroding protections designed to keep military forces out of civilian policing roles.

 

The lawsuit alleges that Trump unlawfully seized control of local law enforcement and violated federal prohibitions on using troops for domestic police work. The Trump administration has dismissed the litigation as a political manoeuvre, insisting that the president has clear authority to deploy forces in the capital and that the troops have acted lawfully and effectively.

 

Beyond Washington, Trump has also sought to deploy troops to Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon, arguing that federal intervention is necessary to address lawlessness linked to protests and unrest over his immigration crackdown. Democratic state and city leaders have taken legal action to halt the deployments, accusing the administration of using militarised force to target political opponents.

 

So far, trial courts have ruled against troop deployments in every city where local officials objected, though an appeals court has stayed one such ruling, permitting the troops to remain in Los Angeles pending further review.

 

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