DC files a trial to prevent the White House from installing the police commissioner for Washington

Donald Trump’s administration, intensifying his repression against the police in the American capital, appointed the chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be the “Emergency Police Commissioner” of Washington, with all the powers of the police chief – an important decision which, according to the DC prosecutor, was illegal.

The American prosecutor General Pam Bondi said in a directive issued Thursday evening that the boss of the DEA, Terry Cole, would suppose “of the powers and duties devoted to the chief of police of the Columbia district”. The Metropolitan Police Service “must receive the approval of Commissioner Cole” before issuing orders, said Bondi.

The DC prosecutor General, Brian Schwalb, in a memo made public to Pamela Smith, the city’s current police chief, replied that the illegal order could not be followed by the city force.

“Consequently, MPD members must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of an official not appointed by the mayor,” wrote Schwalb in his note, setting up a potential legal confrontation between the strongly democratic district and the republican administration.

The mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, wrote on social networks that “there is no status that transmits the district staff authority to a federal official”.

Schwalb said on Friday morning that DC brought an action before a federal court to block this decision.

“By illegally declaring an MPD takeover, the administration abuses its temporary and limited authority under the law,” he published on social networks. “This is the most serious threat to the domicile rule that DC has ever faced and we are fighting to stop it.”

DC, which is not a state, obtains autonomy thanks to a limited rule of domicile adopted in 1973 which can be repealed by the congress. Trump has the authority under the interval rule law to resume federal police for 30 days, as he announced on Monday, before his actions were examined by the congress.

Trump gave mixed messages later in the week to find out if he would ask for the legislative approval of an extension.

The role of guard troops seems limited

It was also announced on Monday at the White House that 800 troops of the National Guard would be activated for functions in the city, and the director of the FBI, Kash Patel, confirmed that the agents also helped in the new Blitz to apply the law.

Trump said emergency measures due to the rate of violent crimes out of control, but the Democrats and municipal officials questioned the decision. While Washington has always had one of the highest homicide rates, as well as most other major American cities, it experienced a significant drop in violent crimes between 2023 and 2024, and crime levels were far from the levels observed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when an epidemic of cocaine helped to feed violence in the capital.

Look at the unprecedented set of actions’ for the longtime DC problem: Analyst:

What is Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to DC?

On Monday, American president Donald Trump announced that he would deploy 800 troops of the National Guard in the American capital and would take control of the DC metropolitan police department. He cited crime crawling as his reason to do, but experts say that the DC crime rate has decreased regularly since the end of 2023. What is Trump’s decision and could it deploy the National Guard in other cities? Fellow of the Manhattan Institute, editor -in -chief of the City Journal and contributor to the Atlantic Charles Fain Lehman joins Power & Politics to discuss.

Thursday, the troops of the National Guard watched over some of the most renowned monuments in the world and humvered took a position in front of the main station of Washington.

Major of the National Guard Micah Maxwell said that troops will help the police in various roles, including traffic control positions and crowd control. The members of the guard were trained in de -escalation tactics and the crowd control equipment, said Maxwell.

The White House said Thursday that the members of the guard are not arrested but “protected federal assets, providing a safe environment for police officers to arrest and dissuade violent crimes with a visible presence on law enforcement”.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon said that the guard was “only qualified for this mission as a community force with solid local ties and disciplined training”.

The fate of the city’s homeless does not know

Trump denied Thursday that federal officials of the application of the laws he sent to the streets of Washington to fight crime were diverted from priority assignments such as the fight against terrorism. When he was asked if he was concerned about this, Trump said that he used a “very small strength” of soldiers and the city police were now allowed to do their job properly in the middle of his security lock.

Trump also underlined the abolition of the population of Washington’s homeless people, although it is not clear where the thousands of people would go, and he did not give details during his press conference.

A dozen residents of Washington homeless have packed their personal effects with the help of volunteers from charitable groups and dark staff of municipal agencies. The articles were not largely thrown by force by the police, but a garbage truck slowed down nearby.

Departures have been volunteer, but defenders of law enforcement agents without expecting that law enforcement agents will unfold in DC in the coming days to force any remaining homeless camp.

On Wednesday evening, the police set up a checkpoint in one of the popular areas of DC’s nightlife, drawing demonstrations. The White House said that 45 arrests were made on Wednesday evening, with 29 arrested people to live illegally in the country; Other arrests were intended for the distribution or possession of drugs, or to carry a concealed weapon.

The staff of the judge department is charged, licensed

Bondi announced Thursday that an employee of the Ministry of Justice was accused of having launched a sandwich with a federal official of the application of laws and licensees thereafter.

This alleged incident took place on Sunday, a few hours before the planned announcement of Trump’s DC control.

A video by Sean Charles Dunn reprimanding a group of federal agents late Sunday become viral online. Dunn was arrested for assault after launching a “sub-series” sandwich in a customs and border protection agent (CBP), said a legal file.

Around 11 p.m. on Sunday, Dunn approached a group of CBP agents, pointed out a finger on the face of an agent and swore it, calling it “fascist”, according to a police affidavit. The video of an observer captured a sandwich on the agent’s chest, said the Affidavit.

Sabrina Shroff, a lawyer who represented Dunn during her first appearance before the Federal Court on Thursday, refused to comment on the allegations against her client.