WASHINGTON — District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb on Friday filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt President Donald Trump’s attempt to assume operational control of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department. The complaint, lodged in U.S. District Court, asks a judge to void both Trump’s executive order invoking emergency powers and a follow-on directive from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that installed Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole as MPD’s “emergency police commissioner.” Schwalb argues the administration overstepped Section 740 of the 1973 Home Rule Act, which allows the president to request police assistance for limited federal purposes but does not permit replacing the police chief or managing day-to-day law-enforcement decisions. Bondi’s Aug. 14 order removed Police Chief Pamela Smith, rescinded several “sanctuary city” policies and required MPD directives to receive Cole’s approval, steps the lawsuit calls “plainly unlawful.” The suit seeks an immediate temporary restraining order, warning that the federal takeover could “upend the command structure” of the 4,000-member force, endanger public safety and erode the city’s self-governance. Schwalb described the move as the gravest threat to the district’s 52-year experiment with Home Rule and an affront to the 700,000 residents who lack voting representation in Congress. Trump’s Aug. 11 executive order declared a local crime emergency, authorized deployment of roughly 800 National Guard troops and set a 30-day window—subject to congressional review—for federal command of MPD. Bondi’s directive broadened cooperation with federal immigration agencies, reversing limits adopted by the city council in 2020. The White House and Justice Department have not yet commented on the lawsuit. A hearing on Schwalb’s request for emergency relief could come as early as next week, setting up a high-stakes test of presidential authority over the nation’s capital.