Hearings to focus on National Guard deployments in the nation's capital and Memphis, Tennessee

Source: AP

Updated 12:47 PM EST, November 3, 2025


Courts in Tennessee and West Virginia were hearing arguments Monday challenging the deployment of their states’ National Guard troops to patrol the streets of Memphis and Washington, D.C., respectively, as part of President Donald Trump’s push to send the military into Democratic-run cities. Trump’s enforcement efforts have unleashed a whirlwind of lawsuits and overlapping court rulings. Here’s what to know about the latest legal efforts on the issue:

Tennessee court addresses Guard deployment in Memphis

Monday’s hearing on the Memphis deployment is before Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal in Nashville. Democratic state and county officials contend in a lawsuit that Republican Gov. Bill Lee cannot deploy the Tennessee National Guard for civil unrest unless there is rebellion or invasion, and even then, it would require action by state lawmakers.

In a legal filing last week, the state said the plaintiffs are misinterpreting how the Tennessee Constitution classifies the National Guard. Tennessee law gives the governor “the authority to dispatch the Guard when needed and to determine when that need exists,” the state added.

Since their arrival on Oct. 10, National Guard troops have been patrolling neighborhoods and commercial areas of Memphis, including near the iconic Pyramid in downtown, wearing fatigues and protective vests that say “military police.” Officials have said Guard members, who are armed, have no arrest power.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-guard-deployment-memphis-washington-f285c5a0f1ce2e23543f447f85ebf16e