Congressional Democrats are blasting President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in Washington,D.C., as local officials fight in court to send the troops home.

Rep.Emanuel Cleaver,D-Mo., called the deployment of service members as part of Trump’s crackdown on crime in the District “horrible.”

“It is absolutely one of the most ridiculous things, and they’re embarrassing us on the world stage,” Cleaver said. “Because here we are, the citadel of democracy, and very clearly erasing a little bit of that ‘D’ every day when we send in troops to Washington, D.C., when Mayor Bowser did not request them.”

TRUMP ACTIVATES NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO ADDRESS ‘TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL’ CRIME IN WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on Aug. 21, 2025.

DC Crime Concerns Spark Debate Over National Guard Deployment

Washington, D.C. (fox news Digital/Emma Woodhead)

But D.C. Attorney General brian Schwalb sued the governance earlier this week in an effort to remove the National Guard from the District.

“We shouldn’t be using the guard for that, but we should be coordinating with our federal partners locally,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said, “Our FBI is very helpful. DEA is very helpful. so there’s a lot of room for cooperation to try to address the crime issues in all of our cities.”

His lawsuit came on the heels of a judge ruling that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles earlier this year was illegal.Schwalb contended in his suit that a law from the 1870s prevents troops from domestic policing.

“It’s just a commonsense issue,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.,said. “And I think that Democrats should be reaching out saying, ‘Great, how do we work together to make sure that the District is as safe as possible for the benefit of everybody?”