U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a look into the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, targeting its sanctuary policies and placing Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terrence Cole in charge as emergency police commissioner. However, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser refuted, citing a legal opinion from District Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who stated Bondi’s order is “unlawful.”
Legal clash
“In reference to the U.S. Attorney General’s order, there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official,” Bowser posted on social media. She included a statement from Schwalb to MPD Police Chief Pamela Smith, in which the D.C. attorney general claimed that Smith is “not legally obligated to follow” Bondi’s directive.
Bondi’s next steps
Bondi’s order took away MPD leadership, mandating that they “must receive approval from Commissioner Cole before issuing any further directives to the MPD.” She also rescinded a recent executive order issued by Smith, suspended parts of two general orders and instructed the MPD to fully enforce laws related to “unlawful” public space occupancy.
Trump’s influence
The latest standoff comes amid President Donald Trump’s broader safety push in the capital. He recently issued an executive order requiring the D.C. mayor to deploy MPD resources for federal purposes “for the maximum period permitted under section 740 of the Home Rule Act.”
The rebuttal
In his letter to the police chief, Schwalb rejected the administration’s legal justification. He “does not authorize the president, or his delegee, to remove or replace the Chief of Police; to alter the chain of command within MPD; to demand services directly from you, MPD, or anyone other than the Mayor; to rescind or suspend MPD orders or directives; or to set the general enforcement priorities of MPD or otherwise determine how the District pursues purely local law enforcement.” He concluded, “The Bondi Order is, therefore, ultra vires.”
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Author: Isabella Torregiani
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