WASHINGTON, DC – District Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block the Trump administration from assuming control of the city’s police department and installing an emergency commissioner.
The legal action follows an order Thursday night from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointing DEA Administrator Terry Cole to lead the Metropolitan Police Department under federal authority.
Schwalb said the takeover violates the Home Rule Act and endangers the safety and rights of the District’s 700,000 residents.
Filed in federal court, the lawsuit seeks an immediate restraining order to stop the administration’s actions, calling them unconstitutional and an overreach of temporary federal powers. The case was assigned to Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, with a hearing scheduled for 2 p.m.
Bondi’s directive compels Mayor Muriel Bowser and the MPD to hand over control to Cole, citing what the Justice Department described as a breakdown in public safety and failure to comply with federal immigration enforcement. The order also demands an end to the city’s sanctuary policies, setting up a direct confrontation with local leaders.
Bowser and Schwalb responded by signaling defiance, with both rejecting the administration’s authority to impose federal leadership on a local law enforcement agency without congressional approval.
Schwalb’s lawsuit argues that the federal government’s invocation of the Home Rule Act goes beyond its narrow emergency provisions and would effectively nullify local governance. The suit claims no conditions exist that warrant a federal emergency commissioner or justify the override of city policy.
The court’s decision could set a precedent for the limits of federal power in the capital, where governance has long been a flashpoint between local leaders and Congress. Under the Home Rule Act of 1973, DC operates with local autonomy but remains under congressional oversight — a structure that has faced increased tension during Trump’s return to power.
The Trump administration has defended the move as necessary to restore public safety and compliance with federal immigration law. Critics, however, view it as a politically motivated power grab that undermines the district’s elected leadership.
