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 department 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,” Police 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 Friday 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." Conflicting commands and confusion about who's in charge are a serious problem for effective policing, Smith said.
The lawsuit comes after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday night 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 D.C. 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.
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.
It also marks one of the most sweeping assertions of federal authority over a local government in modern times. While Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city’s homicide rate ranks below those of several other major U.S. cities, and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse the Trump administration has portrayed.
Schwalb had said late Thursday that Bondi’s directive was “unlawful,” arguing it could not be followed by the city’s police force. He wrote in a memo to Smith that “members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor,” setting up the legal clash between the heavily Democratic district and the Republican administration.
The district’s attorney general is an elected position and the city’s top legal officer. It’s separate from the federal U.S. attorney appointed by the president to serve in Washington, a role now filled by former Fox News Channel host and judge Jeanine Pirro. Trump also appointed Bondi as U.S. attorney general, the nation’s top law enforcement official.
Bondi’s directive came even after Smith had told MPD officers hours earlier to share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody, such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. The Justice Department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief’s directive because it allowed for continued enforcement of “sanctuary policies,” which generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers.
Bondi said she was rescinding that order and other MPD policies limiting inquiries into immigration status and preventing arrests based solely on federal immigration warrants. All new directives must now receive approval from Cole, Bondi said.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back Thursday, writing on social media “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”
The president has more power over the nation’s capital than other cities, but D.C. has elected its own mayor and city council since the Home Rule Act was signed in 1973.
Trump is the first president to exert control over the city's police force since it was passed. The law limits that control to 30 days without congressional approval, though Trump has suggested he’d seek to extend it. Schwalb argues the president's role is narrow under the law, limited to requiring the mayor to provide police services for federal purposes.
A population already tense from days of ramp-up has begun seeing more significant shows of force across the city. National Guard troops watched over some of the world’s most renowned landmarks, and Humvees took position in front of the busy main train station. Volunteers helped homeless people leave long-standing encampments — to where was often unclear.
Twenty federal law enforcement teams had fanned out across the city Thursday night with more than 1,750 people joining the operation, said a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. They made 33 arrests, including 15 migrants who did not have permanent legal status, the official said. Others were arrested on warrants for murder, rape and driving under the influence.
Department of Homeland Security police stood outside Nationals Park during a game Thursday between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies. DEA agents patrolled The Wharf, a popular nightlife area, while Secret Service officers were seen in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood.
Bowser, walking a tightrope between the Republican White House and the constituency of her largely Democratic city, was out of town Thursday for a family commitment in Martha’s Vineyard but would be back Friday, her office said.
The uptick in visibility of federal forces around the city, including in many high-traffic areas, has been striking to residents going about their lives.
Officers set up a checkpoint in one of D.C.’s popular nightlife areas, drawing protests. Troops were stationed outside the Union Station transportation hub as the 800 Guard members who have been activated by Trump started in on missions that include monument security, community safety patrols and beautification efforts, the Pentagon said.
Troops will assist law enforcement in a variety of roles, including traffic control posts and crowd control, National Guard Major Micah Maxwell said. The Guard members have been trained in de-escalation tactics and crowd control equipment, Maxwell said.
National Guard troops are a semi-regular presence in D.C., 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.
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Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Ashraf Khalil, Michael Kunzelman and Will Weissert in Washington contributed.
