WASHINGTON: The attorney general for the US capital Washington has sued Donald Trump’s administration over what he called a “hostile takeover” of the city’s police force, which the Republican president said was necessary to fight violent crime.
Earlier this week, Trump placed the capital’s Metropolitan Police Department under federal government control while also sending 800 National Guard troops onto the city’s streets.
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday (Aug 14) then issued an order to install a hand-picked official – Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole – as “emergency” police commissioner.
Federal law governing the capital “does not authorise this brazen usurpation of the District’s authority over its own government”, Attorney General Brian Schwalb wrote in a filing lodged in federal court.
“Defendants have unlawfully seized operational control of MPD, including by assuming positions in the chain of command and issuing policy directives to MPD.”
Schwalb has asked for a temporary restraining order on Bondi’s order, and for the court to declare that Trump’s executive order exceeds his authority over the District of Columbia.
A hearing has been set for 2pm local time.
“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.
“This is an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home.”
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said late Thursday that “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official”.
