A Major Decision in Washington Could Affect Every American
A federal appeals court ruled Trump has unique authority to keep the National Guard in Washington, citing public safety and national security concerns.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the deployment of the National Guard in the nation's capital can continue, blocking a lower court ruling that had ordered an end to the troop presence.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that Donald Trump is likely to succeed in his argument that the president has a "unique power" to deploy the Guard in Washington, which is a federal district.
The ruling stays the effect of a November 20 decision and order by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, and it reaffirms that Washington residents and visitors will continue to see Guard members regularly through 2026.
Cobb had ruled that the deployment illegally interfered with local authorities' authority to direct law enforcement in the District of Columbia.
Wednesday's unanimous 32-page ruling also said other factors weighed in favor of the Republican administration, including the "disruption to the lives of thousands of service members," as well as the president's interest "in protecting federal government functions and property within the nation's capital."
The judges found that the District had "not shown any irreparable harm to its legal interests."
The ruling acknowledged that the administration has a strong case for its appeal.
The deployment began in August when Trump issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington. Within a month, more than 2,300 National Guard troops from eight states and the District were patrolling the city under the command of the Army secretary. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents for assistance.
The city's attorney general, Brian Schwalb, filed a lawsuit challenging the Guard deployment. He sought to prevent the White House from deploying Guard troops without the mayor's consent while the lawsuit was pending. Dozens of states sided with Schwab in the lawsuit, with their support largely falling along party lines.
A spokesperson for Schwab's office said the stay was a "preliminary ruling that does not resolve the merits of the case. We look forward to continuing to pursue our case in both the district and appellate courts."
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In a post, he said the department would continue to fight in court to defend the president's agenda. Cobb had found that while the president has the authority to protect federal functions and property, he could not unilaterally deploy the D.C. National Guard to assist with crime control or call up troops from other states. He ordered the troops sent home after his ruling but stayed his order for 21 days to give the administration time to appeal.
The appeals court had placed an administrative stay on Cobb's ruling on December 4. Wednesday's action lifted that order.
The court action comes three weeks after two members of the West Virginia National Guard, Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolf, were attacked while patrolling a subway station three blocks from the White House. Beckstrom died of her injuries on November 27. Wolf is still recovering. Rahmanullah Lakhanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, has been charged with murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
Following the shooting, the administration requested the deployment of an additional 500 National Guard members to Washington.
The appeals court panel said its ruling was "limited in several respects." For example, it did not address questions such as whether the Guard units were engaged in "law enforcement" activities in violation of federal law.
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