Washington, DC, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Donald Trump administration over the deployment of National Guard troops to the US capital, arguing the move violates both the Constitution and federal law.
“President Donald Trump has run roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy—that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement,” DC attorney general Brian Schwalb wrote in the filing.
“These unprecedented, unlawful actions have subjected the District to serious and irreparable harm,” he added, as quoted by CNBC News.
The lawsuit names Trump and the leaders of the Pentagon, department of justice, Army, and US marshals service as defendants. It seeks a permanent injunction blocking Trump’s order.
Trump on August 11 placed the DC police department under federal control and deployed hundreds of national guard troops under the city’s Home Rule Act.
The statute allows temporary presidential control in emergencies but limits it to 30 days unless Congress authorises an extension. Since then, the Guard presence has swelled to about 2,200 troops, according to the lawsuit. Officials have said they could remain through the end of the year.
The White House defended the deployment, saying Trump acted lawfully. “The lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of DC residents and visitors — to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
She added, as reported by CNBC News, that 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.”
Trump’s efforts to send the military into US cities have already faced legal challenges.
Earlier this week, US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco blocked him from deploying the Guard to enforce law in California. The decision is limited to California and stayed until September 12, but it marked a setback for Trump’s broader push.
Trump has signaled he is considering similar deployments in other cities, including Chicago. “We’re going in. I didn’t say when, but we’re going in,” he told reporters at the White House.
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