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A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump’s deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard troops to police Washington, DC, is illegal and must come to an end.
Over objections from city officials, Trump ordered the troops to flood the nation’s capital in August to deter what he claimed was an unstoppable crime wave, even though crime was falling precipitously and was at a 30-year low.
Federal District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote that the Trump administration “exceeded the bounds of their authority” and “acted contrary to law” by deploying the National Guard “for nonmilitary, crime-deterrence missions in the absence of a request from the city’s civil authorities.”
She wrote that while Trump is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Trump’s legal authority to deploy troops around the country is subject to limits by Congress, especially in DC, where it has the ultimate authority under the Constitution.
She wrote that the court “rejects defendants’ fly-by assertion of constitutional power, finding that such a broad reading of the president’s Article II authority would erase Congress’ role in governing the district and its National Guard.”
Cobb also said that the Pentagon lacked statutory authority to deploy more than 1,000 out-of-state National Guard members to DC. She wrote that “the district’s exercise of sovereign powers within its jurisdiction is irreparably harmed by defendants’ actions in deploying the guards.”
While finding the administration’s actions illegal, Cobb said it will not be required to pull back troops immediately. She gave the administration until December 11 to file an appeal.
“There is generally no public interest in the perpetuation of unlawful agency action,” Cobb concluded. “There is a substantial public interest in having governmental agencies abide by the federal laws that govern their existence and operations.”
The ruling follows a lawsuit in early September from the office of DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb.
“The court has ruled that the National Guard deployment to DC is illegal and granted a preliminary injunction,” Schwalb said after the ruling was handed down. “As we made clear from the start: The US military should not police American citizens on American soil. This is a victory for DC, home rule, and American democracy.”
The ruling comes amid legal battles over Trump’s moves to deploy the National Guard in other US cities. The US Supreme Court is expected to soon weigh in on his deployment in Chicago, even as some troops sent to Illinois are headed home.
“Normalizing the use of military troops for domestic law enforcement sets a dangerous precedent,” Schwalb continued. “No president should be empowered to disregard states’ independence and deploy troops anywhere — with no check on their military power. This federal overreach is not normal or legal.”
Holding Trump accountable for his illegal war on Iran
The devastating American and Israeli attacks have killed hundreds of Iranians, and the death toll continues to rise.
As independent media, what we do next matters a lot. It’s up to us to report the truth, demand accountability, and reckon with the consequences of U.S. militarism at this cataclysmic historical moment.
Trump may be an authoritarian, but he is not entirely invulnerable, nor are the elected officials who have given him pass after pass. We cannot let him believe for a second longer that he can get away with something this wildly illegal or recklessly dangerous without accountability.
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