Judge orders Trump to end National Guard deployment in DC

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered President Trump to bring his months long deployment of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital to an end.

US District Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee, approved Washington, DC’s request for a preliminary injunction on Trump’s deployment of troops to the city after concluding the nation’s capital will likely prevail suit against the president.

National Guard troops have been deployed to get a handle on out-of-control crime in Washington. REUTERS

Cobb put her decision on hold until Dec. 11, giving the Trump administration time to appeal.

Since Aug. 11, Trump has dispatched over 2,000 National Guard troops as part of an effort to crack down on crime and beautify DC.

Trump has dispatched over 2,000 National Guard troops as part of an effort to crack down on crime and beautify DC. Aaron Schwartz – Pool via CNP/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock

“While the President certainly may have some Article II powers to protect federal functioning and property, including in the District, such powers cannot justify the deployment of the DCNG [DC National Guard] in this case,” Cobb wrote in a lengthy opinion.

Trump also briefly federalized DC’s Metropolitan Police Department and surged federal law enforcement personnel in the city, who, unlike the National Guard, have the power to arrest.