The city of Washington, D.C. sued President Donald Trump and members of his administration over the deployment of the National Guard to combat crime.
The lawsuit alleges that Trump violated the Home Rule Act by sending troops to the city’s streets without the consent of Congress or Democratic Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. The plaintiffs argued that the administration “disregarded” Congress’ role in overseeing the district and the residents of Washington, who they said never “requested” this action.
“The residents and leaders of the District of Columbia have not requested any of this,” the lawsuit reads. “But the President has determined that the District, which he has called a ‘filthy and crime ridden embarrassment,’ should be ‘federalize[d],’ so that his Administration can ‘run it the way it’s supposed to be run.’ He has therefore disregarded Congress’s decision, half a century ago, to afford the residents of the District ‘he powers of local self-government,’ including the authority to police the District as they see fit. In so doing, he has run roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy—that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement.”
The lawsuit further alleges the administration’s “unprecedented, unlawful actions” have caused “irreparable harm” to the district, despite it reducing crime by significant numbers.
“These unprecedented, unlawful actions have subjected the District to serious and irreparable harm,” the lawsuit reads. “The deployment of National Guard troops to police District streets without the District’s consent infringes on its sovereignty and right to self-governance. The deployment also risks inflaming tensions and fueling distrust toward local law enforcement. And it inflicts economic injuries, depressing business activities and tourism that form the backbone of the local economy and tax base.”
Democratic Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed the lawsuit alongside his senior counsels and assistants, who prosecute minor crimes throughout the district. U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro prosecutes most of the crimes happening in Washington.
The White House told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the lawsuit is an attempt to “undermine” Trump’s “highly successful operations” to fight violent crime.
“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 spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
Trump deployed the Guardsmen and federally took over the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to “reestablish law and order and safety” in Washington following several heinous crimes and shootings that had occurred in the nation’s capital. Shootings killed two Israeli Embassy staff members in May and a 21-year-old congressional intern in June.
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward Coristine, also known as “Big Balls,” got severely beaten on Aug. 5 after he attempted to stop a carjacking.
Robberies declined by 42% and carjackings dropped by 85% in the nation’s capital, according to statistics released by the Washington, D.C., Police Union on Aug. 25. Law enforcement made 1,841 arrests and seized 188 illegal firearms since the beginning of Trump’s crackdown as of Aug. 7, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed on Thursday.
CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig said on Aug. 12 that Trump has the “legal authority” to deploy the National Guard into the nation’s capital.
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