D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb emerged from federal court Friday, in the midst of one of the greatest crises in the history of home rule for the District, and applauded what they saw as one win for the city: A judge indicated D.C.'s police chief could remain in charge of the force.

But on the ground, the reality was murkier. As the federal court hearing wrapped, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was at D.C. police headquarters, surveying the department that President Donald Trump had declared to be under federal control.

Miller’s presence at D.C. police headquarters showed how rapidly the White House has become embedded in the machinery of local law enforcement in the nation’s capital. And it highlighted how much the first week of the f

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