D.C. Circuit Hears Appeal Over Trump's National Guard Deployment in Washington; Pillard Raises Posse Comitatus

On Wednesday, a three-judge D.C. Circuit panel heard the appeal in the District’s suit against the National Guard deployment in Washington. Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard questioned whether the administration’s interpretation effectively circumvented the Posse Comitatus Act, and Justice Department attorney Eric McArthur answered: “I think the limiting principle in our position is the president has to be calling out the guard in aid of the civil authorities.” The suit challenges three actions by the federal government. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled the deployment illegal on Nov. 20, 2025, and the appeals court temporarily stayed the order, so troops have stayed: about 2,900 as of the prior week per an AP report cited by the Washington Informer, down from about 5,000 at the summer peak (WJLA). The Defense Department has extended the mission through January 2029 and awarded a $292 million housing contract for Joint Task Force-D.C. personnel. The judges have not announced their decision.

The deployment began in August 2025 (2025-08-24–national-guard-armed-dc-deployment), and the stay that keeps it in place is 2025-12-04–appeals-court-halts-removal-national-guard-washington-dc. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb described the troops as “patrolling near our schools, deploying next to ballot boxes, and marching through our neighborhoods.”