Judge orders Trump administration to end National Guard deployment in DC – Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to end its months-long deployment of National Guard troops to help maintain order in the nation’s capital.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb found that President Donald Trump’s military takeover of Washington, D.C., violated the Constitution and illegally encroached on the power of local officials to direct law enforcement in the District. However, she suspended her order for 21 days to allow for an appeal.
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit challenging the Guard deployments. He asked the judge to prohibit the White House from deploying guard troops without the mayor’s consent.
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In August, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring a state of 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 secretary of the Army. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist the patrols.
It’s unclear how long the deployments will last, but lawyers in Schwalb’s office said Guard troops will likely remain in the city at least until next summer.
“Our constitutional democracy will never be the same if these occupations are allowed,” they wrote.
Government lawyers said Congress empowered the president to control the operations of the Washington National Guard. They argued that Schwalb’s trial is a frivolous “political stunt” that threatens to undermine a successful campaign to reduce violent crime in the District.
“There is no reasonable basis for an injunction to void this arrangement now, especially since the District’s claims have no merit,” Justice Department lawyers wrote.
The Trump Guard deployments have led to other legal challenges. On Monday, a federal appeals court suspended an order blocking Trump from taking command of 200 Oregon National Guard troops. In September, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration illegally sent Guard troops to the Los Angeles area after days of protests over immigration raids.
In Washington, the Trump administration has deputized Guard troops to serve as special deputies of the U.S. Marshal Service. Schwalb’s office said foreign troops operate illegally as a federal military police force in Washington, stoking tensions with residents and diverting resources from local police.
“Every day that this illegal incursion continues, the District suffers attacks on its sovereign authority to enforce local law as it sees fit,” lawyers in his office wrote.
