Washington, D.C. sues Trump administration over National Guard deployment

WASHINGTON -- Washington, D.C. has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment of National Guard troops in the nation's capital, the district's Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced Thursday.

"We are suing to block the unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to DC," Schwalb posted on social media platform X. "The forced military occupation of the District of Columbia violates our local autonomy and basic freedoms. It must end."

The attorney general's office argues that the deployment violates the Home Rule Act which grants a local government (like a municipality or a district) the authority to govern itself, exercising powers of governance within its own administrative area.

The lawsuit was filed less than one month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug 11 on deploying the National Guard to D.C. to help restore law and order and ensure public safety.

Aside from the original 800 National Guard troops, six Republican-led states have supported the president's effort by sending additional personnel, bringing the total deployment in D.C. to over 2,000.

The D.C. lawsuit follows a court victory by the Democratic-run US state of California earlier this week.

On Tuesday, District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled that the Trump administration violated a 19th-century law barring the use of soldiers for civilian law enforcement when it deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June.

Schwalb, a Democrat, noted that the National Guard deployment not only undermines public safety, but also hurts the district's economy by depressing key sectors such as restaurants, hotels and tourism.

The Trump administration countered that the deployment has helped drive down violent crime in the district.