Democrats Who Sent Message to Troops Respond to Trump’s Hanging Threat

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The National Guard’s takeover of Washington was not legal, a U.S. district court judge ruled Thursday.

Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the Pentagon had “exceeded the bounds of its authority” by ordering troops into the nation’s capital for “non-military crime deterrence missions” without express authorization from city leaders.
Donald Trump deployed 800 National Guard members to Washington and federalized the capital’s police force in late summer to combat what he described as a a hellscape riddled with crime. By November, the number of troops had increased to 2,000.
To justify government interference, the president pointed to rising crime rates, the immigrant population and homelessness, although the numbers he used are from 2023. The cherry-picked statistics misrepresent the state of crime in the nation’s capital, which, according to Metropolitan Police data touted by Trump’s own FBI, was actually down last year by 35 percent. It was part of a national trend that saw drop in violent crime.

But while the responsibility lies with the president when it comes to military activities abroad, Cobb determined that Trump lacks the authority to federalize law enforcement in American cities, particularly in Washington, where Congress reigns supreme.

“The Court rejects Defendants’ quick assertion of constitutional power, holding that such a broad reading of the President’s authority under Article II would erase Congress’s role in governing the District and its National Guard,” Cobb wrote.

Cobb suspended the effect of his decision until December 11 to give the Trump administration time to appeal.

The move does not bode well for Trump’s plans for the rest of the country, which involve leveraging the National Guard to bolster his immigration agenda in Democratic cities. So far, Trump has deployed federal forces to Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago and Memphis, all cities where residents have publicly demonstrated against ICE.

This story has been updated.

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