A federal appeals court on Wednesday put on hold a lower court ruling that would have forced President Donald Trump to withdraw National Guard troops from Washington, D.C., concluding that the administration is likely to prevail in defending the deployment as lawful.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed a preliminary injunction issued last month by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, who had ruled that Trump lacked authority to deploy the National Guard without a request from Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser. The stay keeps more than 2,000 guard members in place while the appeal proceeds.
U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote the panel’s opinion, which was joined by Judges Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas, both Trump appointees. Millett said the administration had shown a strong likelihood of success on the merits and warned that abruptly ending the deployment would cause serious disruption.
“Because the District of Columbia is a federal district created by Congress, rather than a constitutionally sovereign entity like the 50 states, the defendants appear on this early record likely to prevail on the merits of their argument that the president possesses a unique power within the district — the seat of the federal government — to mobilize the guard,” Millett wrote.
The panel also rejected the district’s claim that the continued presence of the National Guard caused irreparable harm, finding that local officials failed to identify any concrete, ongoing injury from the deployment.
Millett stressed that the ruling was limited, noting that the court acted on an expedited and incomplete record. She said the merits panel, which has not yet been assigned, will not be bound by Wednesday’s decision. She also emphasized that the court had not resolved whether guard members were engaged in law enforcement activities that could implicate the Posse Comitatus Act.
Cobb, a Biden appointee, ruled on Nov. 20 that Trump’s Aug. 11 deployment violated the D.C. Code by activating the guard for crime deterrence missions without a request from Bowser. She also concluded the administration lacked the authority to bring in National Guard units from several states under federal law.
TRUMP AWAITS COURT DECISIONS ON NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENTS EVEN AS PROTESTS FADE
The stay ensures the National Guard will remain in Washington for at least the next two months, as the D.C. Circuit has not scheduled arguments in the case before Feb. 12, 2026. The current mission is set to expire Feb. 28, 2026, though Justice Department lawyers have said it could be extended into next summer for security surrounding the America 250 celebration in July 2026.
Rao wrote separately, joined by Katsas, to question whether the district had standing to sue at all. She argued that Washington, D.C., as a federal entity, likely lacks any independent sovereignty that would allow it to claim an Article III injury from federal action, casting doubt on the lawsuit’s viability from the outset.