Local Politics · Washington, DC
Appeals Court Questions Limits of Trump's D.C. National Guard Deployment
A federal appeals court on Wednesday opened a hearing on the legality of President Trump's August 2025 deployment of National Guard troops to patrol Washington, D.C. streets as part of a crime-fighting mission. A three-judge panel questioned government attorney Eric McArthur about whether there are limits on presidential authority to deploy the guard domestically, with Judge Cornelia Pillard raising concerns about the Posse Comitatus Act. The mobilization, extended by the Defense Department until January 2029, peaked at roughly 5,000 troops and currently stands near 2,900, supported by a $292 million federal contract for housing. D.C.'s attorney general argues the deployment illegally intrudes on local law enforcement authority; a lower court agreed in November before another panel stayed that ruling in December.