Appeals court rules Trump's National Guard deployment can continue in DC

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday ruled that President Trump's National Guard deployment can continue in Washington, D.C., for now, overruling a lower court.

The three-judge panel ruled unanimously that Trump may prevail in his argument that the president “possesses a unique power” to mobilize the National Guard in the nation's capital, which is a federal district, The Associated Press reported.

The ruling stays a Nov. 20 order by U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb, which said that the deployment illegally intruded on local officials’ authority to direct law enforcement in the District of Columbia.

Trump deployed the National Guard in August to crack down on crime in D.C.

The district's attorney general, Brian Schwalb, sued to challenge Trump's National Guard deployments, asking that the White House be prevented from deploying Guardsmen without the mayor’s consent while the lawsuit continued.

A spokesperson for Schwalb’s office said the appeals court's stay was a “preliminary ruling that does not resolve the merits. We look forward to continuing our case in both the district and appellate courts.”