Appeals Court Halts Order Requiring Trump Administration to Withdraw National Guard from Washington, DC:

A United States appeals court has temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to withdraw National Guard troops from Washington, DC, in the coming weeks. The decision, issued Thursday by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, grants the Trump administration’s request for a stay as it prepares its formal response to the earlier ruling. District Judge Jia Cobb had ruled in November that the federal government must remove the National Guard from the capital by December 11, a deadline she later extended by an additional 21 days. In their order, the appeals court judges emphasized that the stay “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits,” signalling that the panel has not yet taken a position on the underlying legal arguments. The stay simply pauses the enforcement of Judge Cobb’s order while the appeals process moves forward. The Trump administration has deployed more than 2,000 National Guard members to Washington, DC—troops who serve as reservists rather than full-time soldiers. The president has described the deployment as part of an initiative aimed at crime reduction and city beautification. His administration has faced legal pushback over similar deployments in other Democratic-led cities, including Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago. However, Washington, DC, occupies a unique position as a federal district where the president retains greater authority than he does over states. Even so, Judge Cobb ruled in November that the administration had “acted contrary to law” by deploying the National Guard for “non-military, crime-deterrence missions” without a request from the city’s civil authorities. Her decision underscored the complex legal boundaries surrounding federal troop deployments on domestic soil. The appeals court’s action comes at a tense moment in the capital. Just days earlier, two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot while on duty only blocks away from the White House. One of the soldiers, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, later died from her injuries. The other, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition. Authorities have arrested 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal in connection with the attack. In response to the shooting, the Trump administration pledged to send an additional 500 National Guard personnel to Washington, intensifying the controversy surrounding the already-disputed deployment. As the legal battle continues, the city remains in a state of heightened tension. The appeals court will next evaluate the administration’s full arguments before deciding whether the deployment ultimately violates federal law or falls within the president’s authority. For now, the stay allows the National Guard to remain in place—at least until the court reaches a final decision.

NEWS