A federal appeals court on Wednesday appeared skeptical of the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in Washington over the objections of city leaders, now in its 14th month. Even as the judges acknowledged legal distinctions that give the city less power than state governors to challenge the deployment, the three judges lobbed sharp questions at Eric D. McArthur, a government attorney, about whether President Trump could legally deploy Guard members from other states in the city and whether he had usurped power reserved for Congress in keeping the troops in place indefinitely.
Trump first sent the National Guard into Washington in August 2025, claiming without evidence that the city had failed to control a wave of violent crime. Ahead of events celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary this summer, the deployment swelled to nearly 5,000 troops, with many units sent from other states led by a number of supportive Republican governors. In July, the Pentagon announced that the deployment would continue for the entirety of Mr.
Trump’s second term, and the Trump administration signed a nearly $300 million contract securing long-term housing for at least 2,000 troops. As of October, the number of those deployed was hovering around 3,000. City leaders have objected to the presence of the troops, who have become a regular sight in local neighborhoods.
They filed suit in September 2025 arguing that the administration was exceeding its authority with the deployment. A district court judge ruled last year that the deployment probably trampled the city’s rights to self governance, but an appeals court decided then to allow the Guard members to remain on the streets while the lawsuit proceeded. Wednesday’s arguments were intended to help a new panel of appeals court judges consider a more long-lasting ruling, which is expected in the coming months.
The three judges on the panel, all appointed by Democrats, homed in on whether the president could bring troops from distant states to patrol the city without any emergency approaching an insurrection or a foreign invasion. And they noted that the city never requested federal assistance and had opposed a previous effort by Mr. Trump to seize control over the city’s police force.
Judge Garcia suggested that it was Congress, not the president, who would have such authority in the city. Judge Garcia was joined on the panel by Judge Judith W. Rogers, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, and Judge Cornelia T.L.
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