Washington DC’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the US government, challenging President Donald Trump’s unprecedented federal takeover of the city’s police force.
The legal action comes after US Attorney General Pam Bondi named Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Terry Cole as “emergency police commissioner,” giving him authority over Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith. Bondi’s order requires Smith to seek Cole’s approval before issuing directives a move city leaders call unlawful.
DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb accused the federal government of “abusing its temporary, limited authority under the law” and asked a judge to void Bondi’s directive. The case, assigned to Judge Ana Reyes, has yet to receive a hearing date.
Trump, citing the 1970s Home Rule Act, said he is deploying MPD “for federal purposes” to tackle crime. He has sent in hundreds of National Guard troops, FBI agents, and other federal officers to run checkpoints, clear homeless encampments, and patrol public areas. The administration expects a total of 1,300 personnel on the ground.
Mayor Muriel Bowser dismissed Trump’s move as “unnecessary and unprecedented,” accusing him of staging an “authoritarian push” in a city that, she argues, is not in crisis.
While Bondi claimed federal agents had made 156 arrests and seized 27 firearms in recent days, police data tells a different story. DC crime statistics show violent crime is at its lowest level in three decades, with a 26% drop so far in 2025 compared to the same period last year.
Trump’s action marks the first time a president has federalised the MPD, though federal involvement in DC policing has occurred in past emergencies, such as during the crack cocaine epidemic in 1989 and following the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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