The National Guard is expected to maintain its presence in Washington, D.C., for the foreseeable future — potentially until the summer of 2026 — according to a new court filing.
The filing was submitted just before the weekend by District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb. The filing cites internal communications suggesting that Guard leaders are preparing for a “long-term persistent presence” in the capital, possibly extending through the country’s semiquincentennial celebrations next year.
A recent decision by a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the Trump administration to continue deploying National Guard forces to Portland, Oregon. The White House had first ordered 200 guardsmen to the city on Sept. 28, but a federal judge temporarily blocked the move until Monday’s appellate ruling cleared the way.
Schwalb’s filing stems from an ongoing lawsuit challenging what he calls the “unlawful deployment” of the Guard in Washington, D.C. In August, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment and placed the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control after declaring a “crime emergency” in the city.
According to documents included in the filing, the Guard has been working alongside local law enforcement agencies — an arrangement Schwalb argues runs afoul of federal restrictions. One email from D.C. National Guard Commander Maj. Gen. Leland Blanchard instructed troops to begin “wintering” their formation, which Schwalb said indicates the expectation of a months-long stay through the winter.
Court records also show that troops from Alabama and several other states have been rotated into the capital since mid-September, signaling a sustained operation. Schwalb raised further concerns that these out-of-state troops appear to be taking orders from the D.C. National Guard, which answers to the Pentagon rather than the city government.
The filing includes evidence that Guard members have been deputized as federal law enforcement officers — a role Schwalb claims violates the Posse Comitatus Act, a 147-year-old law that prohibits the use of federal troops in domestic policing unless explicitly authorized by Congress.
“President Trump successfully stopped the out-of-control crime crisis in our nation’s capital and turned it into a safe and clean city,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told WUSA-TV on Tuesday. “To ensure the long-term success of the federal operations to deter violent crime, the National Guard is still present in Washington, D.C. We are thankful for their service.”
