Appeals court: National Guard can stay in D.C. until case is decided

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court agreed to allow the Trump administration to keep the National Guard in Washington, D.C., until the case is decided next year.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed unanimously to overturn a lower court ruling that blocked the troops from being sent to the city while court battles continue.

The judges wrote that the administration is likely to win in the courts. But the order was not a decision on the legality of the deployment. It only allows the troops to stay until the final ruling.

"Because the District of Columbia is a federal district created by Congress, rather than a constitutionally sovereign entity like the fifty States, the Defendants appear on this early record likely to prevail on the merits of their argument that the President possesses a unique power within the District -- the seat of the federal government -- to mobilize the Guard," the appellate judges wrote.

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The appeals court issued an administrative stay on Dec. 5 in the case to allow the National Guard to stay while the appeals court made its decision. Wednesday's issuance allows them to stay throughout the case.

Of the three judges, two were appointed by Trump and one was appointed by President Barack Obama.

The District sued the administration in September to block it from deploying troops there.

"We are suing to defend D.C. home rule and stop the unlawful deployment of the National Guard," said Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb in an X post. "Our nation was founded on the fundamental principles of freedom and self-governance that are [at] stake in this case."

Gabe Shoglow-Rubenstein, Schwalb's spokesperson, told The Washington Post that the ruling was preliminary.

"This is a preliminary ruling that doesn't resolve the merits, and we look forward to continuing our case in both the district and appellate courts," he said.

More than 2,000 troops are deployed in D.C. after Trump ordered them into the city as part of an effort to stop local crime. He has since sent National Guard troops to several Democrat-run cities in the United States.

This week in Washington

President Donald Trump participates in a Hanukkah reception in the East Room at the White House on Tuesday. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo