Washington, D.C. has taken the Trump administration to court in a high-stakes clash over control of its police department, filing suit Friday just hours after the White House installed a federal official to run the force under emergency powers.
The dramatic intervention, placing Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole at the helm, prompted sharp warnings from the city’s police chief and an immediate legal counterattack from the district’s attorney general.
“In my nearly three decades in law enforcement, I have never seen a single government action that would cause a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive,” Chief Pamela Smith declared in a court filing, arguing the takeover undermines the department’s chain of command.
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D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s lawsuit calls the move “illegal” and warns it could “wreak operational havoc.” He contends the president’s powers under the 1973 Home Rule Act are limited, and the directive is “an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call D.C. home.” Schwalb has urged Metropolitan Police Department officers to follow only Smith’s orders, rejecting any authority not appointed by the mayor.
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The standoff happened after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that Cole would assume all approval authority for MPD directives, overriding local leadership. Bondi also rolled back MPD policies that had limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, rescinding rules that barred arrests based solely on federal immigration warrants.
Mayor Muriel Bowser quickly pushed back on social media, stating, “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.” Immigrant rights groups scrambled to assess the new policies, with Anusce Sanai of nonprofit Ayuda noting they’ve already seen heightened police activity in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods. “We are triaging how to advise clients and the community at large… But now we find ourselves that we have to be very careful on what we advise,” Sanai said.
By Thursday night, the city was bracing for a show of federal force. Twenty law enforcement teams, bolstered by National Guard troops, fanned out across D.C., arresting 33 people, including 15 migrants without legal status. DEA agents patrolled nightlife districts, Secret Service officers monitored neighborhoods, and Humvees stationed near landmarks and Union Station signaled the scale of the operation, AP reported.
“I always feel safe in every quadrant and every ward of this city,” said lifelong resident Anthony Leak, who attended a Nationals game Thursday. He said the extra agents didn’t noticeably change the atmosphere for sports fans.
As more than 100 protesters gathered outside police headquarters Friday chanting “Protect home rule!” and waving “Resist!” signs, the district’s lawsuit headed to a hearing before U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee. The outcome could determine not only the immediate fate of the city’s police leadership but also test the limits of presidential authority over the nation’s capital.
