The Trump administration agreed Friday to revise an order that would have placed the Drug Enforcement Administration chief in control of the Metropolitan Police Department, averting a federal takeover.
At a judge’s urging, Justice Department officials said they would amend Attorney General Pam Bondi’s directive naming DEA head Terry Cole as “emergency police commissioner.” Instead, Cole will act as Bondi’s “designee for requesting services” from MPD.
“We think that solves the problem and that’s what we’re planning to do immediately,” Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth said.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes warned she would grant the D.C. attorney general’s request for a temporary restraining order if the revision was not made by Friday evening. “In the interim, Mr. Cole is not going to be able to direct police department individuals to do anything,” she said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser called the original order a surprise and said, “D.C. residents are worried and concerned and we have a surge of federal officers.”
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb described the administration’s actions as “brazenly unlawful,” arguing they infringed on the District’s right to self-governance.