National Guard are in Washington as part of Trump's plan to reduce violent crime in the city.
On Friday, an order by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi designating the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration Terry Cole as the District's "Emergency Police Commissioner" was retooled after a legal challenge by local officials.
West Virginia governor sending state National Guard to DC
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Saturday that he is sending 300-400 National Guard members from the state to Washington, D.C., to support President Donald Trump's efforts to combat crime.
Morrisey said he was requested to do so by the Trump administration.
"At the request of the Trump administration, I have directed the @WVNationalGuard to support the President’s initiative to make D.C. safe and beautiful. We are deploying 300-400 skilled personnel to the nation’s capital, reflecting our commitment to a strong and secure America," Morrisey wrote on X.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Aug 15, 2025, 8:10 PM EDT
Revised directive from AG Bondi leaves DC police chief in charge
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday issued a revised directive that leaves Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith in charge of the city's police force, following a successful emergency legal effort by local D.C. leaders that challenged the administration's attempted total takeover of the MPD as unlawful.
Bondi's revised directive backtracks by making clear that Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole will not be serving as the "emergency police commissioner" of MPD as her Thursday order originally stated. Instead, Cole will serve as a "designee" tasked with directing D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to provide any services the federal government may need to enforce federal law in the District.
Bondi's new order directs the mayor to provide assistance with federal immigration law and provide "assistance with locating, apprehending, and detaining aliens unlawfully present in the United States" regardless of D.C. law and local police policies.
The revised directive comes following an emergency hearing convened by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, in which she repeatedly indicated that the administration's attempted takeover of MPD was unlawful, and warned she would be forced to issue a temporary restraining order against the Justice Department if it didn't reverse course.
-ABC News' Alex Mallin
Editor's Note: The post has been updated to correct the last name of the D.C police chief.
Aug 15, 2025, 5:54 PM EDT
DOJ agrees to scale back Bondi's DC police directive after meeting with DC AG
Attorneys for the Justice Department have agreed to scale back an order from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that sought to strip the D.C. police chief of her command authority in favor of a federal official appointed by Bondi.
The outcome in the high-stakes legal battle between the Trump administration and D.C. local leaders came after DOJ attorneys and the D.C. attorney general's office deliberated privately for more than an hour and a half to see if they could come to an agreement on potentially revising the directive by Bondi.
Washington Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith speaking in Washington, Aug. 11, 2025, and Attorney General Pam Bondi speaking on Aug. 11 in Washington.
AP
In court proceedings Friday afternoon, DOJ attorneys said they are currently in the process of rewriting sections of the order, clarifying the directive that effectively put Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole as head of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In its place, DOJ said it will note that Cole will serve as the designee for Bondi "for the purpose of requesting services" from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for any MPD assistance to federal law enforcement.
The agreement was a rare concession by the department in essentially acknowledging Bondi's initial order went beyond what the federal government is permitted to do under the Home Rule Act -- as DOJ's attorneys agreed to alter it to avoid a temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes.
"I'm very happy that it looks like hopefully this can get figured out with me having -- 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."
-ABC News' Alex Mallin, Beatrice Peterson and Luke Barr
Aug 15, 2025, 12:44 PM EDT
Democrats introducing bill to end Trump's federalization of DC -- but it won't pass
Democrats are introducing a joint resolution that would terminate Trump's federalization of Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department.
The effort won't progress in the House, where Democrats are in the minority. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen is expected to introduce companion legislation in the Senate, where the bill also faces dim prospects given the Republican majority there.
"His current takeover is an abuse of power and nothing more than a raw power grab. It is a direct attack on the ability of the people of the District of Columbia to govern their own affairs," Van Hollen said in a statement.
-ABC News' John Parkinson
National Guard are stationed outside of Union Station in Washington, Aug. 14, 2025.