Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive on Thursday naming the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as Washington’s “emergency police commissioner” amid the federal takeover of the district’s police department.
The directive states that DEA Administrator Terry Cole will “assume all of the powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police” for the duration of the public safety emergency President Donald Trump declared for the capital.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including its current police chief and commanders, will have to obtain Cole’s approval before issuing any orders moving forward, it stated.
Bondi’s spokesperson Chad Gilmartin stated on social media platform X that the directive also rescinded MPD’s executive order that “enforced sanctuary policies” and “prevented arrests solely for federal immigration warrants.” That order, issued by Pamela Smith, the city's current police chief, was effective Thursday.
The spokesperson said that Bondi also rescinded MPD’s order that limits inquiries into immigration status.
Gilmartin stated that the MPD was ordered by the attorney general to “fully enforce” a section of the D.C. Code that prohibits unlawful demonstrations and makes it illegal for people to crowd or obstruct streets, building entrances, and passage through parks.
Commenting on the move, D.C. At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson stated on X that “the attorney general does not have the authority to revoke laws.”
Trump recently ordered the federal government to increase law enforcement presence in Washington to combat violent crime. He said on Wednesday that federal control of the Washington MPD should extend past 30 days.
“We’re going to be asking for extensions on that—long-term extensions,” Trump told reporters.
Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator Terrance Cole listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Aug. 11, 2025. Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo
A White House official said the president will use a “whole of government effort” to enhance public safety in Washington, including deploying more than 400 National Guard troops around the capital on Wednesday. They will then start patrolling Washington 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 allows the president to declare an emergency and take over Washington’s police department for two days, which can be extended to 30 days by notifying Congress.
The increase in law enforcement follows Trump’s March 28 executive order establishing the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, tasked with ensuring “maximum enforcement” of federal immigration law in the city, reviewing federal prosecutorial policies on pretrial detention for criminal defendants, and monitoring the city’s sanctuary-city status.
The order also directed the task force to work with local law enforcement to facilitate the deployment of “a more robust local law enforcement” in areas of Washington and to ensure strict enforcement of “all applicable quality of life, nuisance, and public-safety laws” in the city.
