Appeals Court Stays Order to Withdraw Guard from D.C.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday cleared the path for President Donald Trump to maintain the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., issuing a unanimous ruling that stayed a lower court order requiring their withdrawal. The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit indefinitely paused U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb's November 20 finding that the deployment likely violated local authority over law enforcement in the nation's capital.

The panel concluded that the Trump administration was likely to succeed on appeal by arguing the president's authority as commander in chief to mobilize the D.C. National Guard in the federal district. Writing for the court, Judge Patricia Millett emphasized the unique status of Washington as the seat of federal government, stating that the president possesses a distinctive power to protect federal functions and property there. She noted that enforcing the lower court order immediately would cause profound disruption to the lives of thousands of service members who have been deployed for months.

The ruling also weighed the lack of demonstrated ongoing harm to the district's...