In a huge blow to President Donald Trump, a federal judge ruled on Thursday that the president’s National Guard deployment in Washington, DC is illegal.
Troops were first sent to the Capital on Aug. 11, 2025, as part of the Trump administration’s plan to crack down on violent crime in the city.
Now, more than three months later, the legality of the operation is still being contested in court.
Judge Jia Michelle Cobb of the District Court for DC said the Trump administration violated D.C.’s Home Rule Act.
According to the judge, troops for non-military crime deterrence operations are outside the president’s authority.
Cobb issued a 21-day stay on her ruling. This allows the National Guard to remain in DC until Dec. 11, 2025.
If the stay is enforced, troops could be heading home with just two weeks before Christmas.
The period also gives Trump time to appeal the decision.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the deployment, as the Daily Mail reported.
“Trump is well within his lawful authority to deploy the National Guard in Washington D.C. to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement with specific tasks,” she said.
“This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of DC residents — to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC,” she added.
Trump signed an executive order in August declaring a crime emergency in Washington, DC.
Trump pointed out that crime in the nation’s Capital was “out of control.”
“Crime is out of control in the District of Columbia. Washington, District of Columbia, is our Nation’s capital and home to the central institutions of American governance. Yet rising violence in the capital now urgently endangers public servants, citizens, and tourists, disrupts safe and secure transportation and the proper functioning of the Federal Government, and forces the diversion of critical public resources toward emergency response and security measures,” the executive order states.
“The city government’s failure to maintain public order and safety has had a dire impact on the Federal Government’s ability to operate efficiently to address the Nation’s broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence,” it adds.
Under the order, 2,300 National Guard troops from eight states and DC were deployed. They patrolled streets alongside federal agencies, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, and HSI.
Judge Cobb wrote that the president cannot call up the National Guard in DC—or any state—for “whatever reason [he] sees fit.” She said it illegally intrudes on the local authority.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued to block the deployments. He argued the White House cannot deploy troops without the mayor’s consent.
Trump’s National Guard strategy hasn’t been successful everywhere. Courts in Portland and Chicago blocked long-term deployments. In Memphis, however, troops remain.
