Democrats Who Sent Message to Troops Respond to Trump’s Hanging Threat
The National Guard’s takeover of Washington was not legal, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Thursday.
But while the buck stops with the president when it comes to military activity overseas, Cobb determined that Trump lacked the necessary authority to federalize law enforcement in America’s cities, especially in Washington, where Congress reigns supreme.
“The Court rejects Defendants’ fly-by assertion of constitutional power, finding that such a broad reading of the President’s Article II authority would erase Congress’s role in governing the District and its National Guard,” Cobb wrote.
Cobb stayed the effect of her ruling until December 11 to give the Trump administration time to appeal.
The decision doesn’t bode well for Trump’s plans for the rest of the country, which involve leveraging the National Guard to reinforce his immigration agenda in Democratic cities. So far, Trump has deployed federal forces to Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Memphis—all cities where residents publicly demonstrated against ICE.
This story has been updated.