A federal judge has temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., ruling that the forces cannot be used to enforce laws in the capital without the mayor’s approval. The judge said the deployment likely overstepped presidential authority and violated the District’s right to self-govern.
U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb issued the block but paused it for three weeks—until Dec. 11—giving the administration time to withdraw the troops and pursue an appeal. In her order, Cobb emphasized that Congress granted the District meaningful control over its own affairs, writing that those rights are undermined when federal officials authorize Guard deployments beyond what the law allows.
Cobb pointed to several factors that raised legal and constitutional concerns: many of the guardsmen were brought in from other states, the administration appeared to be establishing a semi-permanent command structure in the city, and the troops were being used for routine policing rather than military purposes—without any request from D.C. officials.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who argued that the deployment unlawfully seized local authority over policing and public safety. Schwalb called the decision a significant win, warning that using military forces for domestic law enforcement risks setting a precedent that could let presidents sidestep local and state autonomy.
The administration maintains that it has the legal power to deploy troops in the District and has pushed for similar actions in other cities—moves that have sparked lawsuits from local leaders seeking to block them.
The case comes amid parallel legal fights elsewhere and could be shaped by a pending Supreme Court decision involving Guard deployments to Chicago.
