() The District of Columbia is suing the Trump administration in an attempt to block the “unlawful deployment of National Guard troops,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said Thursday.

The district “did not request or consent to the deployment of National Guard troops,” Schwalb said. “Yet there are 2,300 National Guardsmen on our streets in military gear, carrying weapons, and driving armored vehicles. Their deployment to DC violates the Home Rule Act enacted by Congress 52 years ago.”

Troops have been on the streets of the nation’s capital since Aug. 12, as part of President Donald Trump’s federal crackdown on crime that included taking control of the local police force and National Guard for 30 days.

A White House spokesperson told on Thursday that Trump was “well within his lawful authority” to deploy the troops to protect federal assets.

“This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt at the detriment of DC residents and visitors to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC,” the spokesperson said.

Posse Comitatus Act: DC lawsuit echoes California’s

The city’s suit hinges on the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the military from engaging in domestic policing without the authorization of Congress.

“National Guardsmen have been deputized by the US Marshals to perform law enforcement functions in DC,” Schwalb said. “That includes the authority to execute warrants, detain people, and make arrests. Some Guardsmen were ordered to carry firearms and conduct armed patrols in residential areas.”

Earlier this week, a federal judge on the basis of that same law deemed Trump’s use of the National Guard to fight crime in California as illegal. The administration has been blocked from continuing to deploy troops in the state.

The White House has moved to appeal that ruling.

DC National Guard’s military orders expected to extend

Schwalb criticized the “indefinite” nature of Trump’s troop deployment in Washington, D.C., and argued federal forces are “operating without lawful authority and without law enforcement training.”

“Our nation was founded on the fundamental principles of freedom and self-governance that are [at] stake in this case,” Schwalb said. “No city in America should be subject to involuntary military occupation.”

Troops in D.C. are expected to have their military orders extended through the majority of 2025, a defense official confirmed to on Wednesday.