WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi has solidified the Trump administration’s influence over D.C. law enforcement by redirecting decision-making power from the police chief to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In a Fox News interview, Bondi revealed a forthcoming Justice Department order appointing DEA head Terry Cole as the “emergency police commissioner” of the Metropolitan Police Department. This follows President Donald Trump’s directive for federal control over local police and the deployment of the National Guard to address crime in the capital.
“Effective immediately, Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terrence C. Cole shall serve as MPD’s Emergency Police Commissioner for the duration of the emergency declared by the President. Commissioner Cole shall assume all of the powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police,” the attorney general’s order stated.
The order requires the current D.C. police leadership, including chief Pamela Smith, to obtain Cole’s approval for any future directives from the department.
After a discussion with Bondi, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser noted that Smith was acting as “operations lead in collaboration with the federal government and federal forces present in the district.”
“We are ensuring that our Chief of Police remains the leader and collaborates with counterparts designated by the President, specifically the DEA director and Marshals Service, to ensure the effective deployment of additional officers, which we anticipate could number in the hundreds each night, to reduce violent crime,” Bowser, a Democrat, stated Tuesday.
Bowser’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night on Bondi’s order.
Smith issued an order earlier Thursday allowing local police conducting traffic stops to notify Immigration and Custom Enforcement Agents about undocumented immigrants they encounter, a moved praised by Trump as a “great step” amid his effort to “stop crime” in the city.
Despite Smith’s directive, Bondi during her interview on Fox cited what she framed as “sanctuary policies” in her decision to supplant the police chief for the duration of Trump’s 30-day order.
“They’re trying to protect criminal aliens. And what’s going to happen if we keep this up, criminals are going to flee to DC, and we’re not going to let that happen,” Bondi said. “That’s why, at my directive, we have made Terry Cole now the commissioner over the police.”
