The Trump administration lobbied Wednesday evening for a freeze of Washington D.C.’s attempt to eject a couple thousand National Guard from the district.
The district’s attorneys are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the “unlawful” patrols.
“Absent an appropriation, Department of Justice attorneys and many employees of federal defendants are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including ‘emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property,’” the administration wrote in a brief.
D.C. attorneys responded that the court’s standing order freezing proceedings during government shutdowns does not extend to motions for preliminary injunctions.
“Courts in this Circuit have routinely denied the government’s requests to stay time-sensitive proceedings during prior lapses in appropriations,” its attorneys wrote.
The shutdown began on October 1, after last-ditch votes on both the Republican and Democratic continuing resolutions failed. Three Democratic senators crossed over to vote for the Republican bill, too few to overcome the filibuster and offset Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) no vote. The Senate is out of session for Yom Kippur until Friday, ensuring that the shutdown will last at least until then.
The Trump administration is weaponizing the shutdown against blue states, with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought tweeting about state projects from which the federal government will now withhold money.
D.C., like California and Oregon, has challenged the presence of armed federal law enforcement, but has less autonomy due to its sub-state status. A few hundred of the Guard in the district came from mostly red states. Many of them have been turned to “beautification” projects including spreading mulch and picking up trash, costing the taxpayers an estimated $201 million.
“More than 2,300 armed National Guard troops are currently patrolling the District unlawfully,” the district wrote in its filing. “That unprecedented deployment is inflicting irreparable harm to the District’s sovereignty, its economy, and public safety.”
Read the dueling filings here:
