Trump declares a public safety emergency in DC and manages police
President Donald Trump has invoked the Home Rules Act to control DC police amid his crime concerns.
WASHINGTON – The District of Columbia has called on President Donald Trump and his administration to federal takeover of the city’s police, saying the president’s “brave” intervention was illegal and caused “operational chaos” within the department.
The lawsuit filed on August 15 by District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwarb said it outweighed his authority under the Home Rules Act of 1973 when Trump summoned parts of federal law by declaring a local criminal emergency to assert control of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Schwarb cited the language in a provision stating the president’s authority that the president’s authority to target Washington, DC is limited to “federal purposes.” The law also says that the law does not allow for a full acquisition of metropolitan police stations, but only requires Mayor Muriel Bowser to “provide services” to the federal government.
“By declaring a hostile takeover of the MPD, the administration is violating district rights to its own government, endangering the safety of DC residents and visitors, and abuses its limited and temporary authority,” Schwarb said in a statement.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington calls for a temporary restraining order for Trump police to take over. A 2pm hearing is set up before US district judge Ana Reyes, who was appointed to the bench by President Joe Biden.
The Department of Justice declined to comment.
The lawsuit alleges Attorney General Pam Bondy, listed among the accused in addition to Trump, surpassed her authority in an order from the Drug Enforcement Bureau on August 14.
“Section 740 does not allow this brave seizing of district authority over its own government,” the lawsuit states. “That narrow law allows the President and his Delegy to require the mayor to provide MPD ‘services’. There’s nothing better than that. None of the Bondi orders constitute a compass of limited authority grants. ”
Asked to comment on the lawsuit, a Bowser spokesman pointed to a statement from the Mayor on August 14th, reflecting the case filed by Schwarb. “We followed the law,” Bowser said, adding that federal law “will communicate the district’s personnel authority to federal officials.”
On August 11, Trump made an extraordinary declaration of enforcement, deploying hundreds of National Guard troops on Washington streets and taking action to take control of the city’s police. Trump said action is needed to combat crime in the city, despite Washington’s violent crime rate falling 26% in 2025 compared to last year.
Under the Home Rules Act, federal use of Washington’s metropolitan police cannot exceed 30 days.
Trump said this week that he planned to file a crime-related law “very quickly” that attempts to expand federal police across the city beyond the 30-day window. He said he hopes to gain unanimous support from Republicans in Congress for the measure.
Reach Joey Garrison with X @joeygarrison.
