DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in federal court Thursday over the President’s deployment of National Guard troops in the District. Trump’s takeover, Schwalb says in a press release, amounts to an “involuntary military occupation that far exceeds the President’s authority over the National Guard.”
The suit argues that the deployment “to police District streets without the Mayor’s consent violates both the Home Rule Act and a congressionally approved compact governing the interstate mobilization of state National Guard troops.” It follows a ruling in California that found Trump’s deployment of troops in LA earlier this year was illegal, with the judge saying Trump appears to want to create “a national police force with the President as its chief.”
In a press release, Schwalb says, “It’s DC today but could be any other city tomorrow.” Indeed, Trump has floated the idea of sending troops to other US cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, and New Orleans. (Louisiana is among the states that have sent troops to DC.)
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the New York Times the suit represents “nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of D.C. residents and visitors — to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in D.C.” A spokesperson for DC Mayor Muriel Bowser did not immediately return a request for comment on the suit.
You can read the suit here:
DC’s Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration by Washingtonian Magazine
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
