Appeals Judges Press Trump Team on D.C. Guard Limits

A federal appeals court opened a hearing Wednesday on President Trump's National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., with the three-judge panel asking the government's attorney, Eric McArthur, whether any limits exist on a president's power to send the Guard into the city, the Associated Press reports. The hearing ran about 90 minutes. Outside, protesters stopped traffic near the courthouse and near the Capitol, where U.S. Capitol Police secured an intersection.

The case, brought by D.C.'s attorney general, turns on whether the president has authority to deploy the Guard to a federal district with limited control over its own affairs. A lower court judge, Cobb, a Biden nominee, found that the president can protect federal functions and property but cannot unilaterally deploy the D.C. Guard for crime control or call in troops from other states, according to the AP. A different three-judge panel paused that ruling months ago and said last December that President Trump might prevail on his argument that the president holds a unique power to mobilize the Guard in Washington.

The deployment began in August 2025 as what President Trump called a crime-fighting mission. The force peaked at about 5,000 troops over the summer during the semiquincentennial celebration and stood at about 2,900 as of last week, the AP reports. Troops have supported arrest operations, patrolled streets and neighborhoods and joined cleanup efforts. The federal government awarded a $292 million contract to a private company to house members of Joint Task Force-D.C. in apartments.

The administration says the deployment has helped reduce crime in a city where crime was already falling before the Guard arrived, according to the AP. Officials and activists in the heavily Democratic city call it a waste of taxpayer money. Syracuse law professor William Banks told the AP that D.C. may have a slim argument under home rule. Whatever the appeals court decides, the AP reports the administration would take a loss to the Supreme Court.