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DC sues to block Trump’s federal takeover of its police department

Published:Saturday | August 16, 2025 | 12:09 AM
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Protesters hold signs at a homeless encampment, Thursday, August 14 in Washington.
AP
Protesters hold signs at a homeless encampment, Thursday, August 14 in Washington.
Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents join Washington Metropolitan Police Department officers as they conduct traffic checks at a checkpoint along 14th Street in northwest Washington, Wednesday, August 13 in Washington.
AP
Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents join Washington Metropolitan Police Department officers as they conduct traffic checks at a checkpoint along 14th Street in northwest Washington, Wednesday, August 13 in Washington.
District of Columbia National Guard soldiers patrol on the National Mall, Thursday, August 14, 2025, in Washington. The US Capitol is seen in the distance.
AP
District of Columbia National Guard soldiers patrol on the National Mall, Thursday, August 14, 2025, in Washington. The US Capitol is seen in the distance.
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WASHINGTON (AP):

The nation’s capital sued to block President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department in court on Friday, hours after his administration escalated its intervention into the city’s law enforcement by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department.

Washington’s police chief said Trump’s move would threaten law and order by upending the command structure. “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 said in a court filing.

The legal battle playing out Friday showed the escalating tensions in a mostly Democratic city that now has its police department under the control of the Republican presidential administration that exists in its midst. Trump’s takeover of the police department is historic yet had played out with a slow ramp-up in federal law enforcement officials and National Guard troops to start the week.

As the weekend approached, though, signs across the city – from the streets to the legal system – suggested a deepening crisis over who controls the city’s immigration and policing policies, the district’s right to govern itself and daily life for the millions of people who live and work in the metro area.

Washington’s top legal official was pushing in court to reverse the order putting the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration in charge of police in the nation’s capital. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues the police takeover is illegal and threatens to “wreak operational havoc.”

The lawsuit comes after US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday that DEA boss Terry Cole will assume the police chief’s duties and approval authority for any orders issued to officers. It was unclear where the move left the city’s current police chief, Smith, who works for the mayor.

Schwalb argues the new order goes beyond Trump’s authority and implementing it would “sow chaos” in the Metropolitan Police Department. “The administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home,” Schwalb said.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the district’s lawsuit, and a White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Schwalb’s request for a temporary restraining order was set for a hearing Friday afternoon before US District Judge Ana Reyes, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden.

The police takeover is the latest move by Trump to test the limits of his legal authorities to carry out his agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to bolster his tough-on-crime message and his plans to speed up the mass deportation of people in the United States illegally.

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