The Washington Post reported Tuesday that federal officials, including at the White House, raised the idea with District of Columbia officials of taking over the local police department, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s chief of staff.
Bowser’s chief of staff, John Falcicchio told the Post that D.C. officials objected, and said they would mount a legal challenge if federal officials made an attempt to do so.
The District of Columbia is governed by its own mayor and city council, but federal law gives the president the ability to take over local police in emergency situations.
Bowser did not directly confirm the request to reporters, the Post reported, but was firmly against it: “I would regard that as an affront to even our limited home rule and the safety of the District of Columbia,” she said.
Earlier on Tuesday, House Oversight Committee Chair Gerald Connolly, D-Va., requested documents from the Secret Service about their presence at Trump’s church visit, and whether they directed the use of tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful protesters.
