The United States capital, Washington, DC, has challenged President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department in court, hours after his administration stepped up its crackdown on policing by naming the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief, a federal official, as the new emergency head of the department, with all the powers of a police chief.
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said on Friday in a new lawsuit that Trump is exceeding his power under the law. Schwalb urged a judge to rule that control of the department remains in the city’s hands, and he has also sought an emergency restraining order.
“The administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call D.C. home. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it,” Schwalb said.
Washington’s police chief said Trump’s directive would deeply threaten law and order by upending the department’s 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,” Police Chief Pamela Smith said in a court filing.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser also pushed back, writing on social media that “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”
Let us be clear about what the law requires during a Presidential declared emergency: it requires the mayor of Washington, DC to provide the services of the Metropolitan Police Department for federal purposes at the request of the President.
We have followed the law.
In… pic.twitter.com/XfaNqLalFU
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) August 15, 2025
The White House defended its move: “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 spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes after Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday night that DEA boss Terry Cole will assume “powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police”. The Metropolitan Police Department “must receive approval from Commissioner Cole” before issuing any orders, Bondi said.
Earlier this week, Trump announced that the federal government would take control of the District of Columbia (DC) Metropolitan Police Department to address surging crime.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse,” Trump said during the news conference, in which he was joined by Bondi, who was initially set to oversee the city’s police force while it is under federal control.
“This is Liberation Day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back. We’re taking it back,” Trump said.
He also announced the deployment of the National Guard.
“I’m deploying the National Guard to help re-establish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC, and they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly,” he said.
Trump also said that he intends to remove the capital’s homeless population, but did not provide details on how the plan would be carried out.
Residents wary of escalated show of force
A Washington population already on edge from days of Trump administration ramp-ups has begun witnessing more significant shows of force across the city.
National Guard troops watched over some of the country’s most renowned landmarks and Humvees took position in front of the busy main train hub, Union Station.
Volunteers have helped homeless people leave longstanding encampments, but where they were relocating to was often unclear.
Department of Homeland Security police stood outside Nationals Park during a baseball game on Thursday. DEA agents patrolled The Wharf, a popular nightlife area, while Secret Service officers were seen in the Foggy Bottom neighbourhood.
The sudden spike in high visibility of federal forces around the city, including in many busy traffic areas, has struck residents going about their day-to-day lives.
Trump has the power to take over federal law enforcement for 30 days before his actions must be reviewed by Congress, though he has said he will re-evaluate as that deadline approaches.
National Guard troops are usually less of a heavy presence in Washington’s metropolitan area, typically being used during mass public events like the annual July 4 celebration. They have regularly been used in the past for crowd control in and around Metro stations.
