An appeals court on Wednesday (December 17) cleared the way for President Donald Trump to keep National Guard troops deployed in Washington, D.C., delivering a significant legal victory to the administration amid mounting scrutiny over the prolonged presence of troops in the capital.
In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit stayed a lower court decision that had found the deployment was likely unlawful and ordered the removal of thousands of Guard members from city streets.
The appeals court determined that the Trump administration was likely to succeed in arguing that the president’s August 11 deployment of the DC National Guard fell within his authority as commander-in-chief and was authorised under District of Columbia law.
The panel’s decision indefinitely pauses the lower court order, which had previously been temporarily frozen while the appeals court considered whether to extend the stay.
‘Profound disruption’ without intervention
Writing for the panel, Judge Patricia Millett said that allowing the lower court ruling to take effect would have caused serious disruption.
“Without the court’s intervention, there would be a profound level of disruption to the lives of thousands of service members who have been deployed for four months already,” Millett wrote.
She added that the deployment involved “a strong and distinctive interest in the protection of federal governmental functions and property within the Nation’s capital.”
Troops to remain through late February
Under the appeals court order, President Trump can keep National Guard members stationed in Washington, DC, through at least late February, pending further legal proceedings.
Trump initially deployed hundreds of DC National Guard troops over the summer as part of a broader federal law enforcement surge aimed at bolstering security in the capital.
Renewed scrutiny after shooting
The continued presence of several thousand Guard members has drawn renewed attention in recent weeks following the shooting of two National Guard members last month, an incident that left one dead and another critically injured.
The episode intensified debate over the risks and necessity of the extended deployment.
Broader legal battles ongoing
The DC case is unfolding alongside a series of separate legal challenges to Trump’s deployment of troops in other Democratic-led cities and states across the US, underscoring the wider national debate over presidential authority, federal law enforcement, and the use of military forces in domestic settings.
