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LetMyPeopleVote

(169,809 posts) Fri Aug 15, 2025, 06:01 PM Aug 15

Judge: D.C. police chief remains in command, but Trump can likely demand help on immigration

Source: Washington Post

A federal judge convinced the Justice Department to walk back President Donald Trump's efforts to assert control over the D.C. police department and signaled that she would issue a temporary restraining order if the changes are not complete by Friday evening.

After hearing arguments on an emergency request from D.C. officials to block the Trump administration's takeover of the 3,100-member Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes forged a compromise of sorts between the two sides -- without issuing a ruling -- on the key question of who runs the police department.

But the court did not rule on another key aspect of the case: Whether Trump can commandeer D.C. police officers to enforce immigration violations. That issue is likely to be resolved next week, Reyes said.

In an order issued this week that caught District officials including Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the police chief by surprise, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi named the top official in the Drug Enforcement Administration as the head of the police department, while rescinding local police policies limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement.

At the end of Friday’s hearing, Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth said the administration would agree to change a key section of Bondi’s order that named the DEA chief, Terry Cole, as the commissioner of the D.C. police. Local officials said that removing Police Chief Pamela A. Smith, who was appointed by Bowser, from her duties would be perhaps the gravest violation in history to D.C. home rule.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/08/14/bondi-police-chief-dc-cole/

Judge: D.C. police chief remains in command, but Trump can likely demand help on immigrationâ€©Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said the order by Attorney General Pam Bondi was unlawful and suggested they would not comply.

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
— LindaðŸ’™ðŸŒŠðŸ†˜ðŸ•ðŸ¿ï¸ðŸ•Šï¸ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¦ (@lindaworkerbee.bsky.social) 2025-08-15T21:51:25.331Z

3 replies

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Judge: D.C. police chief remains in command, but Trump can likely demand help on immigration (Original Post) LetMyPeopleVote Aug 15 OP

Trump admin backs down on DC police control after striking deal LetMyPeopleVote Aug 15 #1

Good and I hope the judge throws the whole thing out next week BumRushDaShow Aug 15 #2

I expect local LEOs BidenRocks Aug 15 #3

LetMyPeopleVote

(169,809 posts)

1. Trump admin backs down on DC police control after striking deal

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Fri Aug 15, 2025, 06:14 PM

Aug 15

Justice Department officials agreed to rewrite an order that named the DEA head as emergency police commissioner.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/15/doj-dc-police-department-control-hearing-00512503

Washington officials and the Justice Department negotiated a deal at a judge’s urging Friday that prevented full federal control of the city’s police department over the weekend, but left underlying legal disputes unresolved.

Justice Department officials agreed to rewrite a Thursday order from Attorney General Pam Bondi that named Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole as emergency police commissioner, cutting the mayor and existing police chief out of the chain of command. The rewritten order will name Cole as Bondi’s “designee for requesting services” from the police department.....

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes indicated at a hearing Friday she would grant the D.C. attorney general’s request for a temporary restraining order if the Justice Department did not follow through on rewriting the order by Friday evening. The hearing came after city officials sued the Trump administration earlier Friday over the directive to take over control of the Metropolitan Police Department.

“In the interim, Mr. Cole is not going to be able to direct police department individuals to do anything,” Reyes, a Biden appointee, said. “He’s going to have to go through the mayor.”

Reyes indicated she will hold a hearing next week on other remaining legal questions.

“I still do not understand on what basis the president … can say ‘You, police department, can’t do anything unless I say you can.’ That cannot be the reading of the statute,” Reyes said.

BumRushDaShow

(160,177 posts)

2. Good and I hope the judge throws the whole thing out next week

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Fri Aug 15, 2025, 06:14 PM

Aug 15

although that probably won't happen but perhaps she can have them remove any military "patrols".

BidenRocks

(2,201 posts)

3. I expect local LEOs

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Fri Aug 15, 2025, 07:02 PM

Aug 15

To go toe to toe, armed if necessary, to protect us from an out of control regime!

If they won't...

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