The Trump administration is scaling back its plan to take control of the police department in Washington, DC, after a federal judge pushed both sides to temporarily resolve their differences. Initially, Attorney General Pam Bondi had ordered that the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Terry Cole, would effectively run the Metropolitan Police Department. But following a lawsuit from DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb and a judge's intervention, Bondi revised her directive on Friday: Cole will now serve only as a liaison, rather than as an emergency police commissioner, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The legal tussle began when Bondi's earlier order required the MPD to get Cole's approval for any new policies—a move that DC's attorney general called a recipe for "operational havoc," threatening to usurp local control from Police Chief Pamela Smith and Mayor Muriel Bowser. City leaders argued that the Trump administration's plan would strip DC residents of authority over their own police force, making it a federal agency in practice.
The backdrop is Trump's broader push for federal policing, including deploying the National Guard and suggesting similar interventions in other cities. The administration justifies these steps by citing violent crime in the nation's capital, though Justice Department figures show that DC's violent crime fell 35% last year, marking a decades-long low.
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Bondi's revised order still expects the MPD to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, raising concerns among immigrant communities and other residents. The AG slammed Schwalb on Friday evening, writing on X that he "continues to oppose our efforts to improve public safety" in DC, per the AP. However, Bondi added, "we remain committed to working closely with Mayor Bowser, who is dedicated to ensuring the safety of residents, workers, and visitors." Judge Ana Reyes hasn't yet ruled on all aspects of the takeover, including on how local officers handle undocumented immigrants.
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