Washington officials are pushing back against an order from US attorney general Pam Bondi late on Thursday that the federal government impose a new police chief on the nation’s capital.
The Trump administration named the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be imposed as “emergency police commissioner” over Washington DC – a move that escalates federal control of the city but immediately was challenged by local leaders.
Federalized national guard troops were ordered into the city four days ago as Donald Trump declared a crisis of crime and homelessness there, amid outrage from opponents.
Bondi put DEA chief Terry Cole in charge of the capital’s Metropolitan police department (MPD), saying he will assume the “powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police”.
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Bondi said police department personnel “must receive approval from Commissioner Cole” before issuing any orders. It was not immediately clear where the move leaves Pamela Smith, the MPD police chief, who works for the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser.
Bowser promptly hit back, saying late on Thursday in a social media post: “In reference to the US Attorney General’s order, there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”
Bowser included a letter from the District of Columbia attorney general, Brian Schwalb, to Smith opining that Bondi’s order was “unlawful”and that Smith is “not legally obligated to follow it”.
“Members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor,” Schwalb wrote in the letter to Smith.
Bondi’s directive came hours after Smith directed MPD officers to share information regarding people not in custody – such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint – with federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency.
But, as a so-called sanctuary city, DC police would still be prevented by local law from providing federal immigration agencies with the personal information of an undocumented person in MPD custody, including their release details, location or photos, and cannot arrest people on the basis of their immigration status, or let immigration officials question subjects in police custody.
But the justice department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief’s directive because it allowed for continued enforcement of “sanctuary policies” and Bondi said she was rescinding Smith’s order.
The DC power struggle is the latest move by the US president and his administration to test the limits of federal authority, relying on obscure statutes and a subjective declaration of a crisis to bolster a hardline approach to crime and immigration.
Bondi also overnight sent anti-sanctuary city letters to the mayors of 32 cities and a handful of county executives across the US, warning that she intends to prosecute political leaders who are not in her view sufficiently supportive of immigration enforcement.
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Democratic-led city leaders dispute the administration’s characterizations that their cities are overrun with lawlessness, including unhoused people with substance abuse and mental health issues contributing to an increase in homeless and tent encampments.
They say Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city’s homicide rate ranks below those of several other major US cities and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse the administration has portrayed.
Trump earlier praised Smith’s directive effectively brought together administration moves on city law enforcement and his nationwide efforts to curb immigration.
“That’s a very positive thing. I have heard that just happened,” Trump said of Smith’s order. “That’s a great step. That’s a great step if they’re doing that.”
Bowser, walking a tightrope between the Republican White House and the constituency of her largely Democratic city, was out of town on Thursday for a family commitment in Martha’s Vineyard, fetching her child from summer camp, but would be back on Friday, her office said.
Associated Press contributed reporting
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