US attorney general names DEA boss Cole as DC's 'emergency police commissioner'

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive late on Thursday naming Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole as the "emergency police commissioner" of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department.

KEY QUOTES

"Commissioner Cole shall assume all of the powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police," Bondi's directive said, adding Cole will have the authority to issue orders that apply to MPD members.

MPD's existing leadership, including the current police chief and bureau heads, "must receive approval from Commissioner Cole before issuing any further directives to the MPD," Bondi's order said.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week he was deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington and temporarily taking over the city's police department to curb what he has depicted as a crime emergency in the U.S. capital, though statistics show incidents of violent crime have dropped.

Trump, a Republican, said on Wednesday he will seek long-term federal control of Washington's police force to crack down on crime, engaging in an escalating campaign to exert presidential power over the nation's capital, a Democratic stronghold.

CONTEXT

Muriel Bowser, Washington's mayor and a Democrat, has pushed back on Trump's claims that crime is rising, noting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year.

Both federal and city crime statistics show that violent crime in Washington has declined sharply since a peak in 2023. Trump called the statistics "fraud."

TRUMP THREATS

Trump has previously threatened to expand his efforts to other Democratic-run cities, such as Chicago, that he also claims have failed to address crime.

Trump's extraordinary moves in Washington are reflective of how he has approached his second term in office, shattering legal concerns to test the limits of his office's power.