Washington, D.C., has filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration over the deployment of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital. The legal challenge comes as tensions rise between local and federal authorities over Trump’s unprecedented use of military forces for law enforcement purposes.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed the lawsuit on Thursday, arguing that the deployment violates both the Constitution and federal law. The suit claims that sending hundreds of National Guard troops from multiple states to patrol Washington’s streets without local consent undermines basic democratic principles.
Schwalb wrote in the lawsuit that Trump has “run roughshod” over the long-standing rule that the U.S. military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement. “None of this is lawful,” he stated in the court filing that asks a federal judge to block the deployment.
Legal challenges mount against Trump’s military deployment strategy
The lawsuit follows a similar ruling in California, where a federal judge recently found that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles was illegal. Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that generally prohibits federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement. The Trump administration has appealed that decision.
However, the president’s authority over the National Guard is more extensive in Washington than in other states. D.C.’s unique status as a federal district gives Trump broader powers compared to state governors. The lawsuit argues that despite these expanded powers, Trump exceeded his legal authority by deploying troops without Mayor Muriel Bowser’s consent.
NEW: We are suing to block the unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to DC.
— AG Brian Schwalb (@DCAttorneyGen) September 4, 2025
Armed soldiers should not be policing American citizens on American soil.
The forced military occupation of the District of Columbia violates our local autonomy and basic freedoms. It must end.
The complaint points to several violations of federal law, including the Home Rule Act and interstate agreements governing National Guard deployments. Schwalb argues that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s order allowing some troops to carry weapons while patrolling streets shows the federal government is treating them as federalized forces in all but name.
The city contends that governors from Republican-led states sent troops under Title 32 status, meaning they technically remain under state control but receive federal funding. This arrangement was designed to avoid Posse Comitatus Act restrictions, but D.C. claims the federal government is illegally controlling day-to-day operations. Trump’s broader law enforcement agenda has included similar controversial deployments in multiple cities across the country.
President Trump lawfully and appropriately deployed the military to our nation’s capital after local Democrat politicians refused to do their jobs and allowed crime to get out of control.
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Shamefully, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb is now suing Trump.
Schwalb would rather… pic.twitter.com/ABIzc0QjwyMike Davis
The White House defended the deployment, with spokeswoman Abigail Jackson saying Trump is “well within” his legal authority to use the National Guard in D.C. to “protect federal assets and assist law enforcement.” She called the lawsuit “nothing more than another attempt” to undermine what the administration calls successful crime-fighting operations.
Since Trump announced the deployment in early August, more than 3,300 federal law enforcement officers from 22 agencies have been patrolling Washington’s streets nightly. The White House reports that the operation has led to over 1,700 arrests and the seizure of more than 190 firearms. The National Guard deployment has been extended through December, and Trump has signaled he may send troops to other cities, including Chicago and New Orleans.
