Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit Friday challenging President Donald Trump’s unprecedented takeover of the U.S. capital city’s police force.
“The Administration’s actions are brazenly unlawful,” Schwalb said in a statement after the suit’s filing in U.S. District Court in D.C.
“They go well beyond the bounds of the President’s limited authority and instead seek a hostile takeover of” the Metropolitan Police Department, he said. “They infringe on the District’s right to self-governance and put the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk.”
Schwalb asked the court for a temporary restraining order that would pause U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Thursday night directive installing Drug Enforcement Administrator Terry Cole as head of the D.C. police.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said overnight that Bondi’s order was unlawful, and told Police Chief Pamela Smith that she is “not legally obligated to follow it.”
