The District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit on Friday aiming to halt the Trump administration’s effort to assume direct control of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department. In a 46-page complaint, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb called the move a “brazen usurpation” of local authority and asked a judge to issue an immediate temporary restraining order. The court action follows a Monday executive order in which President Donald Trump invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act— a provision that allows federalization of city police for up to 30 days in an emergency— and deployed National Guard troops to the capital. On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi intensified the takeover by naming Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole the MPD’s “emergency police commissioner,” sidelining Police Chief Pamela Smith and reversing several local ‘sanctuary’ policies. Schwalb argues the White House exceeded the narrow emergency powers Congress granted, warning that reshuffling MPD’s chain of command would endanger public safety and the autonomy of the roughly 700,000 residents of Washington. Smith submitted a sworn declaration supporting the suit, saying the federal directives would “upend the command structure” of the 3,100-officer force. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes scheduled a 2 p.m. hearing on the district’s request for injunctive relief. The administration maintains it has “lawful authority” to act and says the takeover is needed to combat violent crime; officials indicated they will ask Congress to extend federal control beyond the initial 30-day window if necessary.