A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in Washington.
The soldiers patrolling the nation’s capital have presented some of the highest-profile images of President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement efforts in Democratic-controlled cities across the nation.
“The Court finds that the District’s exercise of sovereign powers within its jurisdiction is irreparably harmed by Defendants’ actions in deploying the Guards, and that the balance of equities and public interest weigh in the District’s favor,” District Judge Jia Cobb wrote in a 61-page ruling.
The court order is not set to take effect for several weeks, as Cobb granted the Trump administration a 21-day stay, allowing officials until Dec. 11 to appeal. The troops will continue their deployment while the case continues to play out.
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Cobb’s order said the president only has the authority to deploy the National Guard “through the exercise of a specific power outlined in state law,” not for “whatever reason” he sees fit. She also found the administration “[lacks] statutory authority … to support their request for assistance from out-of-state National Guards and their actions in calling those guards to the District.”
On Wednesday, Indiana announced plans to deploy nearly 300 of its National Guard members to support Trump’s efforts in D.C. NOTUS reported last month that troops have been instructed to prepare for a stay through the winter.
Attorney General for the District of Columbia Brian Schwalb sued over the presence of the troops in September, arguing, “Our constitutional democracy will never be the same if these occupations are permitted to stand.”
Since Trump declared a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., more than 2,300 National Guard members from at least eight states have patrolled the streets, along with hundreds of federal agents.
In a statement to NOTUS, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson did not confirm if the administration plans to appeal but said the order is “nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of D.C. residents — to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in D.C.”
“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,” Jackson said.
Since taking office, Trump has deployed National Guard troops to at least five Democratic-led states to quell protests against immigration enforcement and as part of his agenda to crack down on crime.
Federal appeals courts are currently weighing deployments in Portland, Ore., and Los Angele at the same time the Supreme Court is set to issue its own ruling on the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago.
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