Appeals Court Temporarily Lifts Block on National Guard in DC

Three appeals court judges removed a block on deploying more than 2,000 National Guard members in the nation’s capital.

Members of the National Guard respond to a shooting near the White House on Nov. 26, 2025. Two West Virginia National Guard members were shot blocks from the White House. Win McNamee/Getty Images

A federal appeals court lifted a block on President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Washington on Thursday.

Three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the Trump administration’s request to halt a previous judge’s order blocking the deployment.

The Trump administration responded to the decision, saying the president stands behind the use of troops in the capital.

“As we have always maintained, the President exercised his lawful authority to deploy the National Guard to DC. We look forward to ultimate vindication on this issue,” White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson told The Epoch Times.

Thursday’s decision will allow the appeals court to decide whether an extended pause is warranted as it considers the administration’s appeal of the lower court’s decision.

On Nov. 20, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled the National Guard deployment disrupted the capital’s ability to self-govern.

Trump declared a crime emergency in D.C. and deployed over 2,000 guard members in August to support local and federal law enforcement agencies.

The District of Columbia filed a lawsuit arguing the administration had exceeded its authority in deploying military forces for civil matters without the city’s request, and questioned the use of out-of-state troops.

In a statement Nov. 20, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb, a Democrat, said it was time for the troops to “go home.”

“From the beginning, we made clear that the U.S. military should not be policing American citizens on American soil,” Schwalb said. “Normalizing the use of military troops for domestic law enforcement sets a dangerous precedent, where the President can disregard states’ independence and deploy troops wherever and whenever he wants—with no checks on his military power.”

Schwalb did not return a request for comment on the latest ruling.

The troops were expected to stay in the district through the end of February 2026.

Thursday’s written order by the court of appeals lifted an injunction that required the troops to leave the nation’s capital by Dec. 11.

The order allows Trump to continue the deployment, which has ramped up following a Nov. 26 shooting of two National Guard troops steps away from the White House.

Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died the day after the Nov. 26 attack. National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically injured and remains hospitalized.

Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, who once worked with the CIA, is charged with first-degree murder and assault with the intent to kill, along with other charges.

Guard units have patrolled the National Mall, and have shown a presence in Metro transit stations and the district’s neighborhoods.

The guard’s operations in the capital have been coordinated by the Joint Task Force District of Columbia, which oversees units from the district’s own National Guard and from other states, including South Carolina, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, and South Dakota.

Hours after the Nov. 26 shooting, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered 500 more troops to the district.

“This will only stiffen our resolve to make sure that we make Washington, D.C. safe and beautiful,” Hegseth said on Nov. 26.