Chief Smith stays in charge after legal fight, but
new DOJ directive forces compliance with federal immigration requests.
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi
on Friday rescinded her order seizing control of the Metropolitan Police
Department, allowing Chief Pamela Smith to remain in charge after a lawsuit
from D.C.’s attorney general — but issued a new directive that compels the
force to aid federal immigration enforcement, effectively ending the city’s
sanctuary status.
The abrupt reversal came less than 24 hours after
Bondi attempted to strip local officials of authority over the D.C. police. The
order drew swift legal challenge from D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who
accused the Trump administration of overstepping its authority under the city’s
limited self-governance framework.
Under a Friday agreement between DOJ attorneys and
Schwalb’s office, DEA Chief Terry Cole was reclassified as Bondi’s “designee,”
rather than emergency police chief. This compromise left Chief Pamela Smith in
operational command of the 3,100-officer force, while still requiring her to
comply with orders routed through Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Bondi, however, used her revised order to impose a
significant shift in city policy. The directive requires D.C. police to assist
federal agencies with immigration enforcement, overriding the district’s
longstanding sanctuary city protections.
“This effectively strips Washington, D.C., of its
‘sanctuary city’ status,” Schwalb told reporters outside federal court, calling
the move “an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who
call D.C. home.”
In court filings, Schwalb argued that the original
takeover attempt would have caused “irreparable harm” by disrupting the police
chain of command and undermining public safety. Chief Smith, in a sworn
declaration, called Bondi’s initial order “the greatest threat to law and order
I have ever seen.”
Bowser, who had initially complied with Trump’s
emergency directive, said she agreed the attorney general had overreached. “The
law requires the mayor to provide police services for federal purposes upon request
— not to hand over control of our police department,” she wrote on social
media.
The White House defended Trump’s actions, with
press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the order “the first step in stopping
the violent crime that has been plaguing Washington, D.C.”
But statistics tell a different story. Federal data
released in January showed violent crime in the city had fallen to its lowest
levels in more than three decades, with homicides down 35% year-over-year.
Trump cited several recent high-profile violent
incidents to justify federal intervention, but city leaders argued the data
contradicts his claims of a crisis.
The Home Rule Act allows the president to
federalize D.C.’s police force for up to 30 days, after which congressional
approval is required. Trump has said he plans to request a long-term extension,
but such a move would need bipartisan support in Congress.
Legal experts predict further lawsuits if federal
authorities attempt to extend control beyond the initial 30-day window. “This
raises profound constitutional questions about local autonomy and federal
overreach,” said one Georgetown law professor.
For now, Smith remains at the helm of the
Metropolitan Police Department, but under new constraints that require
compliance with federal law enforcement demands.
Schwalb hailed the partial rollback as a victory
for home rule, while acknowledging the fight is far from over. “We stopped the
hostile takeover today,” he said. “But the threat to our democracy and our city
remains very real.”