Washington DC - A federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily put on hold a lower court's order directing National Guard troops to leave the US capital next week.

District Court Judge Jia Cobb ruled last month that President Donald Trump's deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in Washington was unlawful.

Cobb ordered an end to the deployment by December 11 but stayed her order for 21 days to allow the Trump administration time to file an appeal.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit granted a Trump administration request for a stay of the district judge's order to give it time to consider the case.

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In a brief order, the panel stressed that the move "should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits."

Trump has sent National Guard troops to Democratic-run Washington, Los Angeles, and Memphis on the pretext of combatting crime and helping to enforce his anti-immigrant agenda.

Authorities in Los Angeles and Memphis have resisted those efforts, saying the deployment of troops is unnecessary. The mayor of Washington, which has limited autonomy under US law, has largely worked with the White House on its crackdown.

Federal judges have temporarily blocked the deployment of troops in two other Democratic-controlled cities – Chicago and Portland – and the Supreme Court is expected to deliver the final word soon on whether the actions are lawful.

Trump ordered more than 2,000 National Guard to patrol Washington in August, claiming the city was a "filthy and crime ridden embarrassment."

Brian Schwalb, attorney general for the US capital, filed a lawsuit in September seeking to end the deployment of the National Guard in the city.

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Cobb, in her opinion, said the Trump administration had "acted contrary to law" by deploying the National Guard for "for non-military, crime-deterrence missions in the absence of a request from the city's civil authorities."

Trump's extraordinary domestic use of the National Guard was also challenged by California this year after the president sent troops to Los Angeles to quell protests sparked by federal immigration raids.

A district court judge ruled it unlawful, but an appeals court panel allowed the Los Angeles deployment to proceed.

Trump has denied charges he is strictly targeting cities run by his political opponents for the deployments.

This week, he said he would send troops to New Orleans – another Democratic-run city in a state controlled by Republicans.

Trump has also ordered additional troops to the US capital after two National Guard members were shot in downtown Washington last week.