Judge Blocks Trump’s Attempt to Replace D.C. Police Commissioner

A federal judge Friday effectively halted President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attempt to take over the D.C. Police Department.

District Judge Ana Reyes, appointed by former President Joe Biden, said in a hearing that Attorney General Pam Bondi likely violated federal law by attempting to replace the D.C. police chief with a federal official.

However, Reyes stopped short of immediately issuing a temporary restraining order after the Department of Justice said Bondi would rewrite her directive. Reyes gave Bondi until 6:30 p.m. to make the changes, warning she would issue the order if the directive was not rewritten.

The judge’s decision came just hours after D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump administration, alleging the attempted takeover violated the Home Rule Act of 1973, which allows D.C. residents to elect their mayor and council members.

Section 740 of the Home Rule Act allows the president to request the use of the Metropolitan Police Department for federal law enforcement purposes in emergency situations, but the act keeps control of the department with the mayor and police chief. The authority is also limited to no more than 30 days without congressional approval.

Bondi’s original directive claimed to replace MPD Chief Pamela Smith by appointing Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole as “emergency police commissioner,” granting him “all the powers and duties vested in the D.C. Chief of Police.”

During an evidentiary hearing Friday, Reyes appeared skeptical of the DOJ’s claim that Bondi could replace Smith and issue orders directly to the MPD. The judge said such an arrangement would effectively give Trump personal control over the police department.

“The statute would have no meaning at all if the president could just say we’re taking over your police department,” Reyes said.

Reyes also noted that the DOJ was arguing Trump could personally control the MPD even though the Home Rule Act bars the president from directly communicating with the department.

“You’re making the argument that the president can basically run the entire police department based on language that doesn’t even allow the president to talk to the police department,” she told DOJ lawyers.

Bondi’s Backtrack

By Friday evening, Bondi issued a revised directive. The new order abandons the provision giving Cole full control over the MPD and instead lists specific “services” the attorney general deems necessary under Section 740(a). The mayor must provide these services and Cole is tasked only with overseeing those limited functions.

The revised order still directs MPD to:

• Assist with enforcing federal immigration law and locating undocumented immigrants.
• Comply with all federal law enforcement database and information requests.
• Strictly enforce D.C.’s unlawful public space occupancy law.

The changes avoid directly replacing the chief or requiring all MPD orders to go through Cole, but they maintain aggressive policy shifts on immigration enforcement and homelessness.

Legal Stakes

In his suit, Schwalb alleged Trump, through Bondi’s directive, far exceeded his authority under the Home Rule Act and violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution.

The lawsuit argues Bondi’s original directive endangered public safety by upending MPD’s command structure.

“There is no greater risk to public safety in a large, professional law enforcement organization like MPD than to not know who is in command,” the complaint reads.

During the hearing, DOJ lawyers acknowledged Trump will have no authority to continue using the MPD if Congress does not pass legislation extending his order federalizing the department — contradicting the president’s earlier claims that he could act without Congress in an emergency.

“If it’s a national emergency we can do it without Congress, but we expect to be before Congress very quickly,” Trump said earlier this week.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition to attempting to federalize the MPD, Trump has sent hundreds of federal law enforcement agents and deployed the D.C. National Guard to the capital.

He claimed the National Guard deployment and surge in federal personnel were needed to address rampant homelessness and violent crime, even as MPD data show crime is declining.

Trump’s use of the National Guard within the district could be affected by an upcoming court decision over his deployment of military troops in Los Angeles earlier this year.