The attorney general\u2019s new order represents a partial retreat for the Trump administration in the face of intense skepticism from a judge over the legality of Bondi\u2019s earlier directive. But Bondi also signaled the administration would continue to pressure D.C. leaders to help federal authorities aggressively pursue immigrants in the country illegally, despite city laws on the books that limit cooperation between police and immigration authorities.<\/p>\n
In a social media post Friday evening, Bondi criticized D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, saying he \u201ccontinues to oppose our efforts to improve public safety.\u201d But she added, \u201cWe remain committed to working closely with Mayor Bowser.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Free DC activists gather outside federal court in Washington, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n Free DC activists gather outside federal court in Washington, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Mayor Muriel Bowser\u2019s office said late Friday that it was still evaluating how it can comply with the new Bondi order on immigration enforcement operations. The police department already eased some restrictions on cooperating with federal officials facilitating Trump\u2019s mass-deportation campaign but reaffirmed that it would follow the district\u2019s sanctuary city laws.<\/p>\n In a letter sent Friday night to D.C. citizens, Bowser wrote: \u201cIt has been an unsettling and unprecedented week in our city. Over the course of a week, the surge in federal law enforcement across D.C. has created waves of anxiety.\u201d <\/p>\n She added that \u201cour limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now,\u201d but added that if Washingtonians stick together, \u201cwe will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy \u2013 even when we don\u2019t have full access to it.\u201d<\/p>\n The legal battle was the latest evidence of the escalating tensions in a mostly Democratic city that now has its police department largely under the control of the Republican president\u2019s administration. Trump\u2019s takeover<\/a> is historic, yet it had played out with a slow ramp-up in federal law enforcement officials and National Guard troops to start the week. <\/p>\n As the weekend approached, though, signs across the city \u2014 from the streets to the legal system \u2014 suggested a deepening crisis over who controls the city\u2019s immigration and policing policies, the district\u2019s right to govern itself and daily life for the millions of people who live and work in the metro area.<\/p>\n A push for compromise<\/p>\n The two sides sparred in court for hours Friday before U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who is overseeing the district\u2019s lawsuit. She indicated the law likely doesn\u2019t grant the Trump administration power to fully take over city police, but it probably does give the president more power than the city might like.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way I read the statute, the president can ask, the mayor must provide, but the president can\u2019t control,\u201d said Reyes, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden. The judge pushed the two sides to make a compromise.<\/p>\n An attorney for the Trump administration, Yaakov Roth, said the move to sideline Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith<\/a> came after an immigration order that still held back some aid to federal authorities. He argued that the president has broad authority to determine what kind of help police in Washington must provide.<\/p>\n The police takeover is the latest move by Trump to test the limits of his legal authorities to carry out his agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to bolster his tough-on-crime message and his plans to speed up the mass deportation of people in the United States illegally.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith listens as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference on President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to place Washington police under federal control and deploy National guard troops to Washington, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)<\/p>\n Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith listens as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference on President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to place Washington police under federal control and deploy National guard troops to Washington, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator Terrance Cole speaks during a television interview outside the White House, Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, File)<\/p>\n Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator Terrance Cole speaks during a television interview outside the White House, Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, File)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n It also marks one of the most sweeping assertions of federal authority<\/a> over a local government in modern times. While Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city\u2019s homicide rate ranks below those of several other major U.S. cities, and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse<\/a> the Trump administration has portrayed.<\/p>\n The president has more power over the nation\u2019s capital than other cities, but D.C. has elected its own mayor and city council since the Home Rule Act was signed in 1973.<\/p>\n Trump is the first president to exert control over the city\u2019s police force since it was passed. The law limits that control to 30 days without congressional approval, though Trump has suggested he\u2019d seek to extend it.<\/p>\n Chief had agreed to share immigration information<\/p>\n Bondi\u2019s Thursday night directive to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Terry Cole,<\/a> in charge of the police department came even after Smith had told MPD officers hours earlier to share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody, such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. The Justice Department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief\u2019s instructions because they allowed for continued practice of \u201csanctuary policies,\u201d<\/a> which generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, advocates in Washington were trying to advise immigrants on how to respond. Anusce Sanai, associate legal director for the Washington-based immigrant nonprofit Ayuda, said they\u2019re still parsing the legal aspects of the policies. <\/p>\n \u201cEven with the most anti-immigrant administration, we would always tell our clients that they must call the police, that they should call the police,\u201d Sanai said. \u201cBut now we find ourselves that we have to be very careful on what we advise.\u201d<\/p>\n Amy Fischer, an organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, said that before the federal takeover, most of what they had seen in the nation\u2019s capital was Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeting specific individuals. But since last Friday night they\u2019ve seen a \u201creally significant change,\u201d she said, with ICE and federal officers doing roving patrols around the city.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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