D.C. sues to stop Trump's "brazenly unlawful" police takeover
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Members of DEA patrol on M Street in Georgetown on Aug. 13 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump administration on Friday to block its federal takeover of the city police department.
Why it matters: The lawsuit follows Attorney General Pam Bondi's attempt Thursday night to appoint an "emergency police commissioner," which the city rebuffed as illegal.
- "By illegally declaring a takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its temporary, limited authority under the law," Schwalb wrote on X. "This is the gravest threat to Home Rule D.C. has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it."
The latest: At a hearing on the suit Friday, District Judge Ana Reyes did not immediately issue a restraining order, but both the D.C. government and the Department of Justice have agreed to scale back on part of Bondi's order.
- D.C. MPD Police Chief Pamela Smith will remain the police chief, overseeing the police force, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said during the press conference.
- Terry Cole, the head of Drug and Enforcement Administration that Trump named to take over the D.C. police department, is not going to be able to direct police to do anything in the meantime, the judge said.
State of play: No president before Trump has ever invoked the Home Rule Act to commandeer the Metropolitan Police Department, Schwalb said.
- "The Administration's actions are brazenly unlawful," he wrote. "They go well beyond the bounds of the President's limited authority and instead seek a hostile takeover of MPD."
- Trump has asserted that the takeover was a necessary response to a D.C. crime "epidemic," but crime rates in the capital city have decreased in recent years.
The other side: "The Trump Administration has the lawful authority to assert control over the D.C. Police, which is necessary due to the emergency that has arisen in our Nation's Capital as a result of failed leadership," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
Context: Under the Home Rule Act, the president can take control of D.C. police during emergencies for up to 30 days unless further authorized by Congress.
Zoom in: The lawsuit requested that the court stop Bondi's order and ban the administration from taking further directives to place D.C.'s police under federal control.
- Schwalb also asked the court to find that Bondi's order violates the Home Rule Act and U.S. Constitution.
Read Schwalb's lawsuit:
Go deeper: D.C. AG: Bondi naming DEA chief emergency police commissioner "unlawful"
Editor's note: This story has been updated with details throughout.
