Washington, D.C., officials are taking the Trump administration to court over what they call an unlawful federal seizure of the city’s police force, a move that’s now escalated into a showdown over immigration enforcement and the city’s limited right to self-government.

On Thursday night, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered sweeping changes to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), claiming to have scrapped the district’s immigration policies and replaced Police Chief Pamela A. Smith’s authority with that of Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole, whom she named “emergency police commissioner.”

Under Bondi’s order, MPD must now purportedly seek Cole’s approval before issuing directives. D.C. police can also arrest people solely for federal immigration warrants and share

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