DOJ agrees to rewrite DC police takeover order to avoid court injunction – Washington Examiner
The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to revise part of an order issued by Attorney general Pam Bondi regarding the temporary federal takeover of the Washington,D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. This decision came to avoid a legal injunction after D.C. officials sued, arguing that the original order exceeded federal authority under the Home Rule Act. The order initially designated DEA administrator Terrance Cole as the emergency police commissioner with full control over the police force,but DOJ lawyers told a federal judge they would amend it to make Cole a liaison between federal and local officials instead. The judge, Ana Reyes, expressed a preference for the parties to resolve the issue without court intervention and welcomed the DOJ’s willingness to rewrite the order. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb praised the hearing’s outcome as a significant victory for local governance. The dispute stems from the Trump management’s 30-day takeover of D.C. police amid efforts to address crime, which also involved deploying the National Guard and federal law enforcement.
DOJ agrees to rewrite DC police takeover order to avoid court injunction
The Justice Department said Friday it would rewrite part of an order from Attorney General Pam Bondi about the temporary takeover of the Washington, D.C. police to avoid an injunction from a federal judge.
DOJ lawyers told U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes during a hearing in a Washington, D.C., courtroom that they would rewrite a section of Bondi’s Thursday order designating DEA administrator Terrance Cole as the Metropolitan Police Department’s emergency police commissioner, giving him authority over the entire police force, including department leadership.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth said the order would be rewritten to designate Cole as a liaison between the federal government and local D.C. officials during the emergency takeover rather than having him installed as an emergency police chief.
“We’re just going to say that Mr. Cole is going to serve as the designee for the attorney general for purposes of requesting services under the statute of the order,” Roth told the court, adding that other parts of the order would be rewritten to better fit the emergency powers given under the Home Rule Act.
The hearing on Friday came after D.C. officials sued the Trump administration over a Thursday order from Bondi that they claimed exceeded the federal government’s authority to take over the local police department under the Home Rule Act.
Reyes, a Biden appointee who has issued hostile rulings against the Trump administration, appeared poised to rule in favor of D.C. officials by issuing an injunction. But she ultimately ordered the two sides to discuss a solution during a 15-minute break following an hour of arguments. The break extended to nearly two hours, with Mitchell Reich, a lawyer for D.C., calling the discussions “productive” and resolving most problems. The DOJ is rewriting the language of the order.
The judge said she viewed the section appointing Cole the emergency police commissioner as “plainly contrary to the statute” as currently written, but welcomed the DOJ’s agreement to rewrite the section.
“I don’t want to issue a decision unless I have to, because I think it’s better for the parties to work these things out amongst themselves,” Reyes said, adding she would not issue an injunction unless the statute remains written as is.
Reyes also expressed optimism that the problems the D.C. officials brought to court can be resolved “without a judge having to do anything.”
“I just want to say that everyone did a lot of very good work on very short notice. I am very happy that it looks like – hopefully – this can get figured out without a judge having to do anything, because I think these are the kind of issues that should be decided between the district and the government,” Reyes said. “So I’m thankful for you all and for all the people involved to be cooperative about that, but, again, if I have to step in, I will.”
DC SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER ‘HOSTILE TAKEOVER’ OF MPD
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwab called the outcome of Friday’s hearing a “very important win for home rule” during a press conference outside the courthouse.
The lawsuit filed Friday morning was the first legal challenge to the Trump administration’s 30-day takeover of D.C. police, citing a crime emergency in the federal district. The president also deployed the National Guard and other federal law enforcement as part of the crime crackdown.
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