Trump Administration Adjusts Course on D.C. Police Control
WASHINGTON — On Friday, the Trump administration reversed a previous decision, confirming that the police chief of Washington, D.C., will retain her position, while Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a new directive instructing the city’s police to assist federal immigration enforcement, overriding local regulations.
Bondi’s directive followed a lawsuit filed by D.C. officials aimed at blocking President Donald Trump’s proposed takeover of the city’s police force. Just the night before, the administration had intensified its efforts by appointing a federal official as the interim leader of the police department.
This new memo reflects a significant concession by the Trump administration, prompted by a judge’s doubts about the legality of Bondi’s prior order, which sought to transfer full control of the police to federal oversight. However, Bondi made it clear that the administration would persist in urging D.C. officials to bolster federal enforcement efforts against undocumented immigrants, despite existing local laws that restrict cooperation between police and immigration agents.
Chief Pamela Smith of the D.C. police department expressed that Trump’s earlier attempts to diminish her authority posed a serious risk to public safety by destabilizing the command structure. “In my nearly three decades in law enforcement, I have never seen a single government action that would cause a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive,” Smith stated in a court filing.
The court proceedings unfolded over several hours on Friday before U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who is examining the lawsuit. She suggested that current laws likely do not authorize the Trump administration to fully seize control of D.C.’s police but may grant the president more authority than city officials are comfortable with.
“The way I read the statute, the president can ask, the mayor must provide, but the president can’t control,” remarked Reyes, nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden.
She encouraged both parties to reach an agreement and indicated she would issue a temporary injunction against the administration’s plans to appoint a new chief if a compromise wasn’t reached.
During the hearing, attorney Yaakov Roth, representing the Trump administration, argued that the move to displace Smith was driven by an immigration directive aimed at limiting aid to federal authorities. He contended that the president possesses extensive powers to dictate the level of assistance D.C. police must offer.
In court, D.C. officials aimed to block Bondi’s earlier order to appoint Terry Cole, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as the city’s police chief.
This intervention by the administration marks the latest example of Trump pushing the boundaries of his legal authorities to advance his agenda, leveraging obscure statutes and declaring a state of emergency to reinforce his tough-on-crime stance and expedite the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
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