DC sues Trump administration over 'unlawful' federal takeover

The D.C. attorney general on Friday sued the Trump administration over its federal takeover of the D.C. police force and its deployment of national guard troops into the city, arguing that the effort is "unlawful" and exceeds Trump's authority as commander in chief. 

The lawsuit, filed Friday by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, challenges both Trump's executive order, issued Monday, and Attorney General Pam Bondi's more recent order Thursday that seeks to assert control over the Metropolitan Police Force, sidelining current Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith.

In the filing, submitted to federal court in D.C., Schwalb urged the court to block both of the administration's orders, arguing that the Trump administration's temporary takeover of DC police under Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act "does not authorize this brazen usurpation of the District’s authority over its own government."

Schwalb also asked the court to overturn Bondi's order asserting control of the local police force.

"That narrow statute permits the President and his delegee to request that the Mayor provide the "services" of MPD—nothing more. None of the directives in the Bondi Order fall within the compass of that limited grant of authority," he said.

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