Weeks after a federal judge sought to end the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., a panel of appeals court judges on Thursday stayed that ruling indefinitely.
The three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals puts the Nov. 20 ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb into limbo.
“The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the motion for stay pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion,” the ruling said.
The ruling means that National Guard troops summoned to reduce crime in the nation’s capital could remain on duty after Dec. 11, the previous court-ordered deadline for their withdrawal, according to The Washington Post.