President Donald Trump is being sued by Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb over what legal experts call an illegal takeover of the city’s police force.
The lawsuit comes after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order placing Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terrence Cole in charge of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and bringing in National Guard troops to crack down on crime. The same order also suspends D.C. policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities like ICE.
Schwalb says the order crosses a legal line and violates the District’s right to govern itself. He argues the Trump administration is misusing the Home Rule Act — a law that gives D.C. limited self-governance under federal oversight.
“By declaring a hostile takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, infringing on the District’s right to self-governance and putting the safety of D.C. residents and visitors at risk,” Schwalb said. “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.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser is also pushing back. On Thursday, she posted a letter from Schwalb online and made it clear that her office is following the law.
“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,” she wrote. “We have followed the law. In reference to the U.S. Attorney General’s order, there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”
Schwalb doubled down on Friday, posting on X: “We are suing to block the federal government takeover of DC police. By illegally declaring a takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its temporary, limited authority under the law. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule DC has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it.”
The lawsuit is now moving forward, setting up a legal showdown between D.C. officials and the Trump administration over who really controls the city’s police force.
