Washington, D.C., dodged a federal takeover of its police force last week, but the fight’s not over. On Friday, city officials and the Justice Department hashed out a deal to keep the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under local control, despite the Trump administration’s bold move to install a federal overseer.
Politico reported that President Trump kicked things off on Monday with an executive order invoking the 1973 Home Rule Act. This law lets the president tap D.C. police for federal needs during emergencies, but it demands cooperation with city officials.
Trump’s order, paired with National Guard deployment, set the stage for a showdown. By Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi upped the ante, issuing an order naming DEA head Terry Cole as emergency police commissioner.
This move sidelined Mayor Muriel Bowser and MPD Chief Pamela Smith, effectively seizing control of the department. City officials cried foul, seeing it as a blatant violation of D.C.’s limited self-governance.
Legal Battle Ignites
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb didn’t sit idly by, filing a lawsuit on Friday, August 15, 2025, to block Bondi’s order. He directed Chief Smith to ignore the Justice Department and stick to the existing chain of command. Schwalb’s defiance, while gutsy, teetered on the edge of legal chaos.
“The Administration’s actions are brazenly unlawful,” Schwalb posted on X, slamming the feds for endangering D.C. residents.
His fiery rhetoric ignores that the Home Rule Act gives the president emergency powers, though appointing Cole stretched that authority thin. The city’s pushback forced a courtroom reckoning.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, presided over a heated hearing on Friday, August 15, 2025. She urged both sides to negotiate, threatening a temporary restraining order if the Justice Department didn’t back off. Reyes’s no-nonsense approach kept the feds in check, for now.
During a 90-minute break in the hearing, Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth and Bondi advisor Stanley Woodward hammered out a deal with city officials.
The result: a rewritten memo, issued later that Friday, naming Cole as Bondi’s “designee” to work through the mayor, not over her. “We think that solves the problem,” Roth said, sounding optimistic but sidestepping deeper issues.
Reyes made it clear Cole couldn’t directly boss around MPD officers. “He’s going to have to go through the mayor,” she insisted. Her ruling clipped the administration’s wings, ensuring local control—for the moment.
Yet the White House doubled down, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson declaring, “The Trump administration is not backing down.”
Her claim that the new order ensures compliance with federal immigration law hints at the real motive: cracking down on unauthorized migrants. This agenda, while resonating with many conservatives, risks alienating D.C.’s local leadership.
Unresolved Tensions Linger
Mayor Bowser, blindsided by Bondi’s initial order on Thursday night, emphasized strategic use of federal officers. “Chief Smith’s job has been to make sure… federal officers are being used strategically,” she said. Her measured tone masks the city’s frustration with being steamrolled by federal directives.
The Home Rule Act, while granting the president emergency powers, doesn’t allow a total takeover, Reyes argued.
“The statute would have no meaning at all if the president could just say we’re taking over your police department,” she said. Her logic cuts through the administration’s overreach like a knife.
Still, Reyes questioned the president’s authority to micromanage the MPD. “I still do not understand on what basis the president… can say ‘You, police department, can’t do anything unless I say you can,’” she remarked. Her skepticism underscores the shaky legal ground Trump’s team treads.
The rewritten order may have defused Friday’s crisis, but legal battles persist. Reyes scheduled a hearing for the following week to tackle unresolved questions. The city’s lawsuit, still active, signals more courtroom drama ahead.
City officials initially hesitated to sue because Trump’s executive order aligned with the Home Rule Act’s language. But Bondi’s attempt to install Cole crossed a line, prompting Schwalb’s swift legal action. This push-and-pull reflects D.C.’s precarious balance between federal oversight and local autonomy.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Benjamin Clark
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://americandigest.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
