Washington, D.C.’s Attorney General is fighting back against Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to the city.
Brian L. Schwalb filed the lawsuit Thursday attempting to end President Trump’s ‘unlawful military occupation’ of the nation’s capital, and claiming the Military cannot be involved in local law enforcement.
But the White House claims the legal action is only meant to ‘undermine’ Trump at the ‘detriment of D.C. residents.’
Approximately 2,300 National Guard troops from seven states have been stationed across the District since August 11, when Trump declared a crime emergency and took federal control of law enforcement operations in D.C.
The troop presence was coupled with federal law enforcement agencies – like FBI, ATF, DEA and U.S. Marshals – to crackdown on violent crime in the district and increase safety for residents and visitors.
Trump has lauded the takeover as a success and has floated doing the same in other cities, like Chicago, Baltimore and, most recently, New Orleans. The president has touted the dropping crime figures and said people feel safe in the District again.
Schwalb, however, argues that the troop takeover goes beyond Trump’s presidential authority and violates the city’s local autonomy under the Home Rule Act.
Specifically, his lawsuit claims that the troops being deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service to perform law enforcement operations is a ‘violation of the foundational prohibition on military involvement in local law.’
Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb claims President Donald Trump’s National Guard deployment to the nation’s capital is an ‘unlawful military occupation’
The District’s AG is suing to end federal control of Washington, D.C. – just days before the Home Rule Act takeover is set to end on September 10
Trump’s emergency take over of the Metropolitan Police Department under Section 740 of D.C.’s Home Rule Act can last only 30 days – unless extended by Congress. This means that the surge is set to expire on September 10.
But he can keep the National Guard presence in the city beyond those 30 days.
There are no time limits under the Home Rule Act or other federal laws preventing deployment of the National Guard.
The White House says that ‘President Trump is well within his lawful authority to deploy the National Guard in Washington D.C. to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement with specific tasks.’
‘This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of DC residents and visitors — to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC.’ White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
Schwalb writes in Thursday’s filing that D.C. ‘has suffered a severe and irreparable sovereign injury from the deployment of National Guard units’
Schwalb lamented in the lawsuit that there are more than 2,200 ‘patrolling the streets of the District dressed in military fatigues, carrying rifles, and driving armored vehicles.’ Pictured: National Guard troops stand outside Union Station in Washington, D.C. on September 1, 2025
‘In particular, the deployments have infringed on the District’s sovereign authority, granted by the Home Rule Act, to determine how best to police the District and protect public safety,’ he continues.
‘The deployment has also impaired the District’s sovereign right to determine when to permit out-of-state National Guard troops to enter the District and furnish assistance to local law enforcement.’
During his August 11 announcement, Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate 800 National Guard troops in D.C.
But over the course of the takeover, hundreds more troops were sent in from seven U.S. states. And now, Schwalb notes, there are more than 2,200 ‘patrolling the streets of the District dressed in military fatigues, carrying rifles, and driving armored vehicles.’