Washington DC Sues Trump Calling Police Takeover Illegal

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This will be fun to watch

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https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/trump-sued-by-washington-dc-over-city-police-takeover

Washington DC has sued the Trump administration saying an effort to take over the city’s police force is illegal.

The lawsuit filed by Washington’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb on Friday follows an escalation between city officials and the Justice Department over President Donald Trump’s moves to take control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. The complaint, which was filed in Washington federal court, alleged that Trump exceeded the authority granted by Congress in taking those steps.

“The administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home,” said Schwalb in a statement issued by the Washington Attorney General’s Office. “We are fighting to stop it.”

The White House and the Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Chris Geidner will be busy today.

He hasn’t skeeted yet this morning about the lawsuit.

https://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.social

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2. NEW: Judge Reyes has called a 2pm hearing on D.C.'s emergency bid to reclaim control of its police department.

Link to tweet

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3. Here is the latest from that hearing

Link to tweet

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4. Here is another great link to this hearing

Reyes: We've been going for an hour and I want to give court reporter a 15 minutes break. During recess, I want counsel to try to work something out for sections 2, 3, and 4...

She warns DOJ that if they don't work something out and she enters a TRO that is then violated, that's contempt of court.

— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) 2025-08-15T19:04:45.715Z

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

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.

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

— Linda💙🌊🆘🐕🐿️🕊️🇺🇦 (@lindaworkerbee.bsky.social) 2025-08-15T21:51:25.331Z

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

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.

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

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.