A lawsuit challenges the ongoing National Guard deployment in Washington DC. 23 Republican-led states support the Trump administration and 22 Democratic-led states backing opposition.
A partisan battle is playing out in a Washington courtroom that could decide the fate of President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement intervention in the nation’s capital.Members of the Ohio National Guard patrol the National Mall, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Dozens of states have taken sides in a lawsuit challenging the open-ended National Guard deployment in Washington, with their support falling along party lines. It shows how the law enforcement operation in the nation’s capital remains a flashpoint in the Republican president’s broadening campaign to send the military to cities across the country and underscores the deepening divisions over the move.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 4 by Washington Attorney General Brian Schwalb, challenges the Trump administration’s use of the National Guard in the heavily Democratic city as part of an emergency order issued by Trump to stem what the president called “out of control” crime. Although the order has lapsed, hundreds of troops are still in the city, which is seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the deployment.
With legal action launched against deployments to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, the case will be closely watched, even though Washington’s status as a federal district makes it an outlier. Oral arguments are set to begin Oct. 24.
Twenty-three states have aligned with the Trump administration’s stance that the president has the authority to bring in the National Guard, while 22 states back Washington’s position. The 23 states supporting the administration have Republican attorneys general while the other 22 have Democrats.
For the states joining in the lawsuit — especially those facing their own interventions — supporting Washington was a way to show solidarity against what they said was presidential overreach.
“It is un-American to use the military in any of our cities — absent truly extraordinary circumstances — and a threat against one city is a threat to us all,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, who supports Washington.
The states supporting Washington said in their filing that the deployment of National Guard units without the city’s consent is unlawful, unconstitutional and undemocratic.
