Washington — The District of Columbia has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing it of illegally deploying National Guard troops in the capital without the city’s consent and in violation of long-standing federal statutes.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced the suit on Thursday, describing the move as a direct assault on Washington’s limited self-governing rights. The legal filing argues that the deployment disregards the Home Rule Act, which guarantees the city’s authority over local matters, and breaches the Posse Comitatus Act, a law designed to restrict military involvement in domestic policing.
Mayor Muriel Bowser had opposed the federal intervention, insisting that Washington faced no public emergency warranting the presence of armed troops. Instead, she accused the White House of attempting to intimidate residents and override local authority under the guise of restoring order.
President Donald Trump defended his decision, claiming that taking federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deploying the National Guard was necessary to protect federal assets and ensure “law, order, and public safety.” His aides dismissed the lawsuit as a political stunt, portraying it as an effort by Democratic leaders to weaken his administration’s ability to respond to unrest.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden. She is already overseeing a separate challenge by Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who is contesting Trump’s attempt to remove her from office, signaling that the judiciary will likely become a key battleground in disputes over the scope of Trump’s executive power.
The lawsuit also comes just days after a federal court in California ruled that Trump’s use of National Guard troops to support immigration and drug enforcement in Los Angeles was unlawful, a decision that could influence the outcome in Washington. Critics say the president’s repeated attempts to send troops into Democratic-led cities amount to an effort to expand federal authority under the pretext of combating crime, even in jurisdictions where violent crime rates are falling.
Legal experts warn that the dispute could set a far-reaching precedent on whether a president can bypass local consent to militarize city streets. If upheld, Trump’s actions could open the door for the executive branch to impose federal authority on urban centers across the country, a prospect civil liberties groups argue would erode constitutional protections and democratic norms.
According to Reuters, the suit underscores the broader clash between Trump and Democratic-led cities, with Washington now testing whether the courts will curtail the president’s power to deploy troops domestically.
