Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a directive issued Thursday evening that DEA boss Terry Cole will assume “powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police.” The Metropolitan Police Department “must receive approval from Commissioner Cole” before issuing any orders,

WASHINGTON — The nation’s capital sued to block President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department in court on Friday, hours after his administration escalated its intervention into the city’s law enforcement by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department.

Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order rescinding sanctuary city policies in Washington, D.C. and naming an "emergency police commissioner."

He’s spent more than 31 years as a law enforcement officer, including 22 at the DEA. At the agency, he worked in Oklahoma, New York and Washington. He spent time overseas in Colombia, Afghanistan and the Middle East. The agency said he fought drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

President Donald Trump has declared a public safety emergency in Washington DC and placed the capital city's police under federal control.

DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration over its moves to take over the city’s police department and appoint an emergency commissioner, the latest sign of pushback from district officials against the federal takeover.

The White House says Attorney General Pam Bondi is effectively in charge of Washington D.C.’s police department.

National Guard troops scaled up their presence in D.C. Thursday, with several stationed around the National Mall, at Union Station, on the subway, and other places.