D.C. attorney general sues Trump administration over 'hostile takeover' of police [View all]

Source: Washington Post

Updated August 15, 2025 at 8:57 a.m. EDT


D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued President Donald Trump over his executive actions asserting control over the D.C. police department and attempting to install an emergency police commissioner, one of the most extraordinary exertions of federal power in the city's half-century of home rule.
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The lawsuit came hours after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered sweeping changes to law enforcement policies in the city and said a Trump administration official should assume all duties and responsibilities of the police chief, drawing immediate legal pushback from Schwalb and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D).

Schwalb called it the "gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced."

"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 DC residents and visitors at risk," Schwalb said in a statement. "The Administration's unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it."

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