The showdown in Washington is the latest attempt by Trump to test the boundaries of his legal authority to carry out his tough-on-crime agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to speed up the mass deportation of people in the United States illegally.

The lawsuit brought by Washington says Trump exceeded his authority under the Home Rule Act of 1973 in taking over the Metropolitan Police Department.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that DEA Administrator Terrence Cole will temporarily serve as the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote on social media that “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”