DC Attorney General Files Lawsuit to Stop Federal Takeover of MPD
The District of Columbia has filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and other top administration officials, seeking to block what it calls a "brazen usurpation" of its authority over the city's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The complaint, filed on August 15, 2025, asks a federal court to halt the administration's assertion of "direct federal control" over the local police force, arguing the move is an illegal overreach that violates federal law and threatens to create "operational havoc" within the department.
The Federal Takeover
The conflict began on August 11, 2025, when President Trump announced he was invoking a rarely used provision of the D.C. Home Rule Act to address what he termed a "crime emergency" in the nation's capital. Through an Executive Order, the President claimed that "special conditions of an emergency nature exist" that required placing the MPD under federal authority.
The administration immediately moved to assert control:
President Trump announced that Attorney General Pam Bondi was "taking command" of the MPD "as of this moment".
He appointed Terrance Cole, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as the "interim commissioner" of the MPD.
Attorney General Bondi later added that Gadyaces Serralta, the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, would be "supervising command and control" of the entire operation.
The situation escalated on the evening of August 14, when Attorney General Bondi issued a directive titled "Restoring Safety and Security to the District of Columbia," referred to in the lawsuit as the "Bondi Order". Without warning to city officials, the order formalized the federal takeover by granting Commissioner Cole "all of the powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police" and requiring all senior MPD leadership to receive his approval before issuing any directives. The order also rescinded or suspended several existing MPD policies, including those related to immigration enforcement.
D.C.'s Legal Challenge
The District's lawsuit argues that the administration's actions are built on a fundamental misreading of the D.C. Home Rule Act, the 1973 law that granted the city powers of local self-government. The entire legal battle hinges on Section 740 of that Act.
According to the complaint, Section 740 is an "exceedingly narrow" provision that only allows the President to direct the Mayor to provide "services" of the MPD for specific "federal purposes" during a genuine emergency. The lawsuit contends the administration has illegally exceeded this limited authority in three key ways:
Requesting "Services" vs. Seizing "Control": The city argues the law does not permit the President to seize command of the MPD, install federal officials into its chain of command, or unilaterally change its internal policies. The statute allows the President to ask the Mayor for assistance, not to dissolve the local chain of command.
Lack of a Real "Emergency": The lawsuit directly refutes the administration's claim of a crime emergency. It states that, contrary to the President's assertion of "increasing" violent crime, data shows it has fallen 26% since 2024 and 51% since 2023. The complaint even points out that President Trump and his own Department of Justice publicly celebrated a 25% drop in violent crime just months earlier, in the spring of 2025.
Improper "Federal Purpose": The administration has defined its mission as "maintaining law and order in the Nation's seat of Government". The District argues this is a purely local law enforcement function, not a "federal purpose" as required by the statute. The complaint states that Congress explicitly left control over local affairs to the people of the District.
The Stakes: A Threat to Public Safety
Beyond the legal arguments, the District warns of dire, real-world consequences. The complaint alleges the Bondi Order will "upend the entire command structure of MPD and sow chaos," endangering both the public and police officers.
The lawsuit emphasizes that imposing a new, unfamiliar command structure "effective immediately" creates massive confusion for the more than 3,100 officers on the force. It concludes with a stark warning: "There is no greater risk to public safety in a large, professional law enforcement organization like MPD than to not know who is in command".
The District of Columbia is asking the court to immediately stay and vacate the Bondi Order and issue a permanent injunction blocking the administration from asserting control over the MPD. The case represents a critical test of the Home Rule Act and the limits of federal power over the District's right to govern itself. If the US District Court for the District of Columbia was to grant the injunction, it is likely that the Trump administration will appeal to the Supreme Court.
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