Washington DC’s Police Chief Pamela Smith will remain in command of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) after a heated legal battle over federal intervention in the city’s law enforcement. The dispute began when US Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order naming Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Terry Cole as the district’s “emergency police commissioner.”
The city immediately challenged the order, filing a lawsuit to block Cole from assuming authority over the MPD. Following a court hearing, the Justice Department rolled back Bondi’s directive, instead assigning Cole as an intermediary between the administration and the police rather than a direct commander.
District Attorney General Brian Schwalb welcomed the move, saying the “key issue of control and command of our MPD has been resolved.”
Judge Ana Reyes ruled that under the Home Rule Act invoked by the Trump administration Mayor Muriel Bowser must comply with certain White House directives. However, she clarified that the act does not hand complete control of the police force to the federal government.
Despite this, a new order requires Bowser’s office to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and address the “unlawful occupancy of public spaces,” sparking further disputes set to continue next week.
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Bondi, defending the administration’s actions, accused city leaders of resisting efforts to improve public safety. Meanwhile, President Trump has deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents to Washington DC, citing rising crime and homelessness as justification. Checkpoints, patrols, and helicopter surveillance have already been observed across the city.
Mayor Bowser criticized the intervention, calling it an “authoritarian push” that undermines local authority. Chief Smith also condemned the original order, stating that forcing her to seek approval from a federal appointee would endanger both officers and the public.
The clash highlights a deepening struggle between federal power and local governance in the nation’s capital.