Appeals Court Weighs Trump’s 5,000-Troop DC Deployment

A D.C. Circuit three-judge panel heard 90 minutes of arguments on Oct. 14, 2026, over President Donald Trump's National Guard deployment in Washington, in place since August 2025 and peaking at about 5,000 troops. D.C.'s attorney general brought the case after Judge Jia Cobb ruled the deployment illegal in November; an appeals panel stayed that ruling in December. The Defense Department extended the mission until January 2029. Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard asked whether the government's position amounts to federalization under the Posse Comitatus Act. Government attorney Eric McArthur told Judge Judith Rogers the limiting principle is that the president must call out the Guard in aid of civil authorities. For D.C., Mitchell Reich said the president can deploy the Guard to suppress organized violence in the district. Syracuse law professor William Banks said there is tremendous presidential leeway and no overarching federal principle that would bail out the district. The administration says the deployment helped reduce crime; D.C. officials and activists say crime was already falling and that the mission wastes money and normalizes militarization. Dozens of protesters rallied outside with signs reading 'Guards Out' and 'Free DC.' The panel has not ruled.