On August 15th, the Trump administration reversed its position and agreed to allow the Washington D.C. police chief to continue managing the police department following a court hearing. Previously, Trump had deployed the National Guard to Washington D.C. under the pretext of fighting crime and decided to have the federal government take over the Washington police department.
Earlier on the 15th, the Trump administration appointed a federal official as the new emergency affairs director of the Washington police department, further strengthening federal intervention in D.C. law enforcement agencies. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit on the matter that day, seeking an emergency restraining order in the litigation.
Schwalb stated that the Trump administration's actions far exceeded the president's statutory powers. The lawsuit filed by Schwalb in federal court warned that due to "confused command authority," the Trump administration's attempt to take over the police force could lead to "paralysis of the policing system."
The lawsuit pointed out that Trump and Bondi's actions involved multiple violations - both exceeding the president's statutory authority to intervene in local affairs and arbitrarily abolishing established local government policies. Schwalb said in a statement that Congress has never granted the president the power to dismiss police chiefs or take over the capital's police department.
Schwalb believed that Trump's action of placing the capital police department under federal government command violated the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. This law only grants the president limited temporary powers in emergency situations, and the federal government has no authority to replace the capital police chief and take over daily police operations.
Regarding the related controversy, legal teams from the D.C. government and federal government engaged in hours of intense arguments before federal district court Judge Anna Reyes on the 15th. Judge Reyes, nominated by Biden, pointed out during the case review that the law may not authorize the Trump administration to fully take over the D.C. police force, but the powers granted to the president might be broader than the D.C. government expected.
Acting attorney for the Trump administration, Yaakov Roth, argued in court that the decision to remove Washington police leadership stemmed from the district's immigration policies still limiting certain assistance to federal law enforcement agencies. He emphasized that the president has broad discretionary power in determining what kind of law enforcement support Washington police must provide.
Judge Reyes, known for her firm approach, previously blocked Trump's transgender military ban (later stayed by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals). "Based on my understanding of the regulations, the president can make requests and the mayor must cooperate, but the president has no authority to directly control," Reyes urged both sides to reach a compromise and promised to issue a temporary injunction to prevent the federal government from appointing a new police chief if negotiations failed.
The D.C. government and federal government are expected to continue discussions on immigration policy next week. After the hearing, the Department of Justice agreed to withdraw the decision to have the DEA administrator serve as emergency affairs director and submitted new instructions, adjusting the role to that of a coordinator between the federal government and D.C. police.
Regarding this, Brian Schwalb stated: "The core dispute over Washington D.C. police command authority has been resolved, which meets our expectations."
Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed Washington D.C. police in a new memorandum to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement actions and not refuse cooperation under any local laws. Analysts believe this order represents a strategic concession by the Trump administration under pressure from the federal judge.
However, Bondi simultaneously sent a clear signal: even though Washington D.C.'s current laws explicitly limit police cooperation with immigration departments, the federal government will still exert strong pressure on D.C. authorities, demanding their cooperation with federal law enforcement agencies in severely cracking down on illegal immigration.