National Guardsmen walk toward the D.C. Armory after President Donald Trump announced the federal take over of the Metropolitan Police Department to assist in crime prevention in Washington, D.C., Aug. 12, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
In September, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump administration over the troops’ deployment, arguing the move was an illegal infringement on the city’s law enforcement. Schwalb also previously asked a judge to pause the deployment as the case remained pending.
Had the court not intervened, Judge Patricia Millett, an appointee of Former President Barack Obama, warned there would be a "profound level of disruption to the lives of thousands of service members who have been deployed for four months already."
Millett also pointed to D.C.’s attorney general failing to identify "any ongoing injury to its statutory interests."
JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN LOS ANGELES
National Guard members patrol the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 30, 2025. (Andrew Leyden/Getty)
"Deploying an out-of-state Guard to a non-consenting State to conduct law enforcement would be constitutionally troubling to our federal system of government," the order states.
However, the judges wrote their order was preliminary and their assessment of the case was "hurried," but the panel added that the stay pending appeal is an "extraordinary remedy" that was the result of the Trump administration making "a strong showing that [the case] is likely to succeed" in its appeal of the lower court ruling.
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"The Defendants have demonstrated on this preliminary record that they will likely succeed in showing that the guard deployments are lawful" under both local and federal law, the judges wrote.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia expressed its confidence in the strength of the case, adding, "This is a preliminary ruling that does not resolve the merits. We look forward to continuing our case in both the District and appellate courts."
Julia Bonavita is a U.S. Writer for Fox News Digital and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and send story tips to julia.bonavita@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-appeals-court-rules-favor-trump-administration-dc-national-guard-deployment