D.C. Sues Trump Admin Over ‘Hostile Takeover’ of Police
The lawsuit cites the District of Columbia Home Rule Act enacted by Congress in 1973.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced the city has sued President Donald Trump’s administration after taking over the police.
“The Administration’s actions are brazenly unlawful,” Schwalb said in a statement. “They go well beyond the bounds of the President’s limited authority and instead seek a hostile takeover of MPD. They infringe on the District’s right to self-governance and put the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk.”
The lawsuit cites the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, enacted by Congress in 1973.
“By contrast, Congress gave the President an exceedingly narrow role in the governance of the District,” according to the filing. “In Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, Congress provided that if the President ‘determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist,’ the President may require that the Mayor ‘provide such services’ of the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) as the President deems necessary for ‘federal purposes.’”
Here’s more:
The President’s authority under Section 740 is sharply limited in time: it must terminate within 48 hours unless the President sends proper notice to Congress, and, in all events, it must terminate upon the expiration of the emergency or within 30 days, whichever comes first. Id. § 1-207.40(a)-(b). For the President to obtain MPD’s services for longer than 30 days—even in the face of an ongoing emergency—Congress must pass a joint resolution permitting the extension. Id. § 1-207.40(d).
Moreover, by its terms, Section 740 only permits the President to require the Mayor to “provide services” of MPD for “federal purposes.” Id. § 1-207.40(a). It does not permit the President to seize control of MPD. Nor does it authorize the President to direct MPD in the policing of local crime. Congress left that responsibility to local leaders. Id.
Schwalb claims Trump violated Section 740 when he put the police department “under direct federal control” and gave Attorney General Pam Bondi command of it.
Everyone keeps fighting over the crime stats in D.C.
One study analyzed violent crime trends in D.C. From Fox News:
“You have less chance of being victimized, but if you are victimized, you have more of a chance of dying,” John Jay adjunct lecturer Jillian Snider, a retired New York Police Department officer, told Fox News Digital Tuesday of violent crime trends in the nation’s capital.
Snider was referring to a report published by the Council on Criminal Justice in July, which studied violent crime data of 17 large U.S. cities between 2018 and 2024, specifically diving into the lethality of violent crimes in those cities. It found Washington, D.C., had the highest lethality level out of the group – which included cities such as Baltimore and Chicago – at a 38% increase in lethality in 2024 compared with 2018.
Lethality in D.C. jumped by a whopping 341% when compared to 2012 data, the study found, reporting that there were 13 homicides per 1,000 serious violent crimes in 2012 to 57 homicides per 1,000 serious violent crimes in 2024.
The study defined lethality as “the number of homicides per aggravated assaults and robberies.”
On January 3, 2025, the DOJ claimed violent crime in D.C. hit a 30-year low. Notice the date. That’s under former President Joe Biden.
Also, the media didn’t report that the day of Trump’s announcement, the city settled with a former police sergeant who accused her superiors of altering crime statistics to make them appear lower.
NEW: On Aug. 5, the same day Donald Trump threatened a federal law enforcement takeover in D.C., the city quietly settled a lawsuit from a former police sergeant who accused her superiors of deliberately misclassifying certain offenses to make crime stats look low, court records… pic.twitter.com/ZpJ0EusCAU
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) August 14, 2025
I remember reading a study about Chicago crime a few years ago that said crime went down but violent crime increased.
Either way, just like with jobs and CPI reports, people can cherry pick the stats to extract the ones for their narrative.
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I think that will probably end as well as their attempts to become a state.
I gotta hope no one agrees with this state hood crap. Don’t like it…move.
DC was created specifically NOT to be a state idiots.
Democrats supporting criminal activity
The vile Dhimmi-crats have been brazenly enabling, coddling and supporting criminals and terrorists since the formation of the KKK, in the Reconstruction era.
I really knew they jumped the shark when Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs became their poster child victim.
This seems incredibly foolish. It’s like DC is saying ‘crime is low and even if was higher we don’t want help’. Mess around and DC may have other Executive powers used instead of this relatively mild one. Complaining about the use of NG may just get a more comprehensive use of Presidential authority;see LA and deployment of Active Duty forces.
I don’t know how much room the Home Rule Act leaves him to do more.
I am suggesting that the use of this relatively minor. mild, temporary power under Home Rule Act might give way to use of other Presidential Authority to act when the POTUS declares an insurrection in fact or to be imminent. He could use the same authority as he used in LA OR invoke the Insurrection Act. Obviously DC will howl but both of those rely on the judgement and political will of POTUS to be used without much restraint or judicial review b/c they are Nat Security issues and apex powers. I would also point out that once declared no POTUS would back down simply b/c a CT disagreed or sought to curtail its use out of spite, commitment to ideological narrative…which is not out of the question in our current climate. I sure as heck wouldn’t back down and stop at least until the conclusion of a full trial on the merits with follow up Appellate and SCOTUS review…by which time several years down the road the case would be moot b/c the issue would no longer be an active ‘controversy’.
Even then, their claims of crime reducing are a bunch of bs. We already know those stats are manipulated and they’ve suspended a police captain for that very reason
Well yeah the ‘low crime’ claims are based on BS stats and Congress should be demanding cooperation with DoJ to determine how much manipulation was going on, who was doing it, who ordered it, who facilitated it, who turned a blind eye to it and once figured out fire them and hand down indictments. DC leadership kicking up dust over this 30 day intervention is gonna lead to more attention and interest in all sorts of things that they’d prefer to keep under wraps.
When the Congress authored the Home Rule Act, it operated under the assumption that the DC government would not be insane enough to call for the defunding of police, look away from looting and rioting, not prosecuting criminals and blaming the victims of inciting the violence against them. And now DC cannot figure out what is the emergency that forced the President’s hand? It’s called the Democrat Party.
Perhaps it’s time for Congress to repeat the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (1973) and resume control of the District as the Constitution originally mandated.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
And place responsibility once more upon their shoulders?! LOL!
Congress will do no such thing with its current composition and leanings. Responsibility is the last thing they ever want. (It’s why the Deep State even exists – pushing responsibility onto someone else.)
where are the pro american rallies?
lefty has no trouble coming onto the streets for
mostly violent protests so where are the pro americans who want peace?
Most of ’em have jobs…
There are such rallies. They usually take the form of anti-gun control protests.
Unlike leftists, conservatives find it disgusting to use rent-a-crowd services.
The Democrats: We cannot solve any problem facing America and its citizens, but we can sue like it’s going out of style!
Communist a-holes.
Is there an 80/20 issue out there that Democrats won’ grab the wrong side of and fight to the death to hold onto while demanding respect?
The District of Columbia Home Rule Act (1973) gives Congress the right to pass legislation to “amend or repeal any law in force in the District prior to or after the enactment of this Act and any passed by the Council”. So why the heck isn’t the allegedly Republican controlled Congress using that authority to deal with the situation in the District of Columbia. Seems to me that it would be a no brainer. But there you go and here we are.
Source:
District of Columbia Home Rule Act
IMHO DC should be refederalized to terminate the catastrophic error of home rule.
Because they’d have to blow up the Filibuster to do it. There is ZERO chance they could find 7-DNC Senators to vote for cloture…and reality, they’d probably need more than that and may not even have a majority because it’s unlikely Murkowski, Collins and two or three other GOP Senators would vote to end home rule.
That’s Congress. Which has no desire to accept any responsibility it has successfully previously shucked onto someone else’s shoulders. Actually being responsible for things gets people voted out of office.
Does DC even have standing?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the courts (after a leftist retard in the district court issues a TRO against Trump) chooses to punt on the issue and declare this to be a dispute between congress and the executive.
First thing I thought too. The D.C. “city government” is entirely a creature of the federal government. It is not an independent entity in any way like a State or a city within a union member State.
Guess who this case was ‘randomly’ assigned to? US District Court Judge Ana Reyes…the first openly gay judge on that District bench. In just the last 6-months, Reyes has ruled against Trump on several cases, most notably on the Military Transgender Ban (Talbot vs Trump). Her behavior during that hearing was so abhorrent, the DoJ made a formal complaint to the DC bar.
I wonder what she’ll think about this case.
She has probably already drafted her ruling in favor of the plaintiff – no response from the defendants or hearing needed.
Pres Trump and AG Bondi need to be prepared to respond with a “Challenge” to all Article. III. courts questioning the “supremacy” of any such entity regarding the Executive’s determination of the “Constitutionality” of his decisions and actions.
If the Congress believes it appropriate to create a “constitutional crisis” over such an assertion of the obvious falsehood which is “judicial supremacy” regarding interpretations of the Constitution, I expect well over 2/3rds of the natural and naturalized US Citizens will support the President. …
And, that would be “democracy” (which the demonrats want to preserve) in Action.
P.S. AG Bondi should suspend all of DC’s unconstitutional gun laws (i.e., all such related statues on the books. And, bring Federal charges against all with federal firearm defects who are found to be armed; no bail. (That would likely include all personnel in the Metro Correctional Facility wherein “J6 Defendents” were denied their Constitutionally protected Right.)
Or, even just clear all of the anti-Bruen laws enacted, and dare the courts to do anything about it.
Getting those patently in-your-face-SCOTUS laws out of the way would go a loooong way.
It’s perfectly clear that Home Rule has been an abject failure. It’s time to return control of DC to Congress and vacate the city offices. To say they’ve done a poor job is hyperbole. Let’s get rid of the stupid “Taxation without Representation” license plates and the attitude that goes along with it. Don’t like not being represented in Congress? Move to Virginia. It’s literally a five minute walk.
Better yet, give the bulk of DC back to MD the way what is now Arlington County VA was returned to VA. That would give most residents representation in Congress and make DC’s problems MD’s problems. What remains of DC should be the responsibility of Congress. Home rule would be mooted because there would be no home to rule.
I agree. Virginia does not need more democrat voters in northern Virginia than we already have. They will fit in perfectly with MD’s voters.
Funny. It was just the other day when DC Police Chief Pamela Smith was quoted as saying, “We know that we have to get illegal guns off of our streets,” “And if we have this influx or enhanced presence, it’s going to make our city even better.” It sounds to me as if the DC police chief thought the police were short handed and an “influx” of Federal la enforcement would do some good. Perhaps after their favorite criminals were arrested or their job was in jeopardy did they changed their minds.
Hostile takeover of incompetence is more like it.
If you look at the arrests made in DC, like other big blue cities, it is the judges who are to blame for the crime waves. The cops do their jobs and then the liberal judges let the perps out with little or no bail. That is where the corruption is. The lady on FNC this morning tells her story about being sexually assaulted be a homeless man one block from her apartment. After they finally caught him five months later the judge allowed him out on bail awaiting trial. He was then arrested with a machete in a DC park. He had five previouis arrests but was still let out on bail! Not only that, her assault and his arrest NEVER appeared on their arrest data. Like so many cities and departments, there needs to be a top down clean out of anything DC!
And the prosecutors who won’t prosecute or will turn a felony into a misdemeanor.
It’s the Open Society way.
If I had any artistic chops, I’d construct a meme where the left panel shows a scene of a typical DC crime in progress, and the right shows Trump wearing a police cap. The text would read:
WE DIDN’T NEED NEW LAWS…
JUST A NEW CHIEF.