DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb [pictured] has filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s unlawful attempt to take over the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The lawsuit targets the President’s August 11 Executive Order and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s August 14 order to Mayor Muriel Bowser invoking a never-before-used provision of the Home Rule Act to claim federal command of the District’s local police force. These orders far exceed the President’s limited authority to request services from MPD, which can only be done on a temporary basis, under emergency circumstances, and solely for federal purposes. The Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) lawsuit seeks to defend the District’s authority under the Home Rule Act, block the Administration’s unlawful orders, protect the safety of DC residents, workers, businesses and visitors, and affirm that MPD remains under District control.
“By declaring a hostile takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, infringing on the District’s right to self-governance and putting the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “The Administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it.”
In 1973, Congress empowered District residents to govern themselves by enacting the Home Rule Act. In Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, Congress gave the President limited, temporary authority to request and receive the “services” of MPD under special emergency circumstances and solely for “federal purposes.” The President’s authority expires within 30 days or when the emergency ends, whichever comes first, unless extended by Congress. The Home Rule Act keeps operational control of MPD under the Mayor and Chief of Police, and it only permits the President to make requests of MPD through the Mayor. In the District’s 52 years of Home Rule, no President has ever previously attempted to exercise this authority.
On August 11, 2025, the President issued an Executive Order invoking Section 740 of the Home Rule Act and announced that he was “placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control.” The President stated that he was appointing Terry Cole, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as the “interim commissioner of MPD.” U.S. Attorney General Bondi later stated that Gady Serralta, the Director of the U.S. Marshals Services, would be “supervising command and control” of “the entire operation” of MPD.
On August 14, 2025, U.S. Attorney General Bondi issued an order to Mayor Bowser attempting to implement the President’s executive order. Bondi’s order purports to place DEA Administrator Cole in charge of MPD as “Emergency Police Commissioner,” replacing MPD Chief Smith and assuming all of the Chief’s powers and responsibilities. The order also claims to rescind certain MPD policies, direct MPD officers to enforce laws and regulations pertaining to unlawful occupancy of public spaces like homeless encampments, and rescind any MPD directives and orders that conflict with the order.
OAG’s lawsuit alleges that the Administration’s unprecedented actions far exceed the President’s limited authority, brazenly violating Section 740 of the Home Rule Act. Congress did not grant the President authority to displace the Chief of Police, assert operational control over MPD, or rescind MPD policies—as the Administration seeks to do. Congress also limited the President’s authority to requesting services for “federal purposes,” such as protecting federal property or personnel—not dictating local enforcement of local laws. Even when Section 740 is lawfully invoked, the authority to appoint the MPD’s Chief still belongs to the District’s Mayor, and command of MPD still rests with the Chief.
With this lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, OAG is asking the Court to declare that the Administration’s actions violate the Home Rule Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the United States Constitution, to block U.S. Attorney General Bondi’s order, and to ensure that control of MPD remains with the Mayor, the Chief, and the people of the District of Columbia.
