Overview

• Attorney General Pam Bondi named DEA Administrator Terry Cole as the city’s “emergency police commissioner,” granting him all powers and duties of the Metropolitan Police chief and rescinding MPD directives that limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
• Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb rejected the federal order as unlawful and sued to affirm that control of the MPD remains with district-appointed leadership under the Home Rule Act.
• Approximately 800 National Guard members and hundreds of federal agents continue visible deployments in Washington, enforcing checkpoints, monument security and encampment clearances under President Trump’s declared crime emergency.
• City and federal crime data showing violent crime at multi-decade lows are cited by opponents who argue that the takeover lacks empirical justification.
• The legal challenge will hinge on interpreting Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act and assessing broader limits on presidential authority and Posse Comitatus restrictions for domestic policing.