Washington DC attorney general Brian Schwalb (AP image)
The attorney general of Washington DC Brian Schwalb has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, accusing it of a “hostile takeover” of the city’s police force. Trump said the move was necessary to fight violent crime. Earlier this week, Trump placed the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal control and deployed 800 National Guard troops to the city’s streets. On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi had appointed Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole as an “emergency” police commissioner.In the court filing, Schwalb argued that federal law does not allow the federal government to take over the city’s police force in this way. He said Trump’s administration had “unlawfully seized operational control” of the MPD by inserting federal officials into the chain of command and issuing policy directives.Schwalb has demanded for a temporary restraining order to block Bondi’s appointment and for the court to rule that Trump’s executive order exceeds his authority over the District. A hearing is scheduled for 2.00 pm local time (1800 GMT).”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 on social media. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser also criticized the move, saying there is no law that allows a federal official to control the city’s personnel.Washington DC is not a state and operates under a special arrangement that gives Congress broad powers over local matters. The Home Rule Act, in place since the mid-1970s, allows residents to elect a mayor and city council but Congress still has final control over the city’s budget.Republican critics have accused the overwhelmingly Democratic city of being crime-ridden, poorly managed and overrun by homelessness. However, police data shows that violent crime dropped significantly between 2023 and 2024, reaching its lowest level in 30 years, according to Mayor Bowser.Trump has said he wants to remove homeless encampments from the city, describing Washington on his Truth Social platform as “under siege from thugs and killers” with worse crime rates than some of the world’s most dangerous countries.
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