Trump's DC takeover could be halted 'within hours' as judge takes action

A federal judge has called a 2 p.m. hearing for Friday in the case against the Trump administration over its federal takeover of Washington, D.C., and could issue an order to halt the operation “within hours,” according to Politico reporter Kyle Cheney.

Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit Friday morning against the Trump administration over its “hostile takeover” of the city, with more than 1,500 federal troops currently patrolling the city’s streets and making arrests. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, however, who’s been assigned the case, could put a halt to the operation swiftly.

“Judge Reyes has called a 2 p.m. hearing on D.C.'s emergency bid to reclaim control of its police department,” Cheney wrote in a social media post Friday on X. “A restraining order could be in place within hours.”

Reyes was appointed by former President Joe Biden, who Cheney described as, alongside Politico reporter Nicole Markus, being known for her “take-no-prisoners approach from the bench.”

She previously tangoed with President Donald Trump after blocking his ban on transgender Americans from joining the military, and has been the target of official complaints from Trump’s Justice Department for her sharp criticisms of DOJ officials who argued on behalf of the ban.

As part of Trump’s D.C. takeover, Attorney General Pam Bondi had appointed Terry Cole, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration, as “emergency police commissioner” in charge of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department. The federal government’s efforts to take control of a local police agency, however, far exceed its authority, argued Schwalb, who called it the “greatest threat” D.C. has “ever faced.”

“This is an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call D.C. home,” Schwalb wrote Friday in a social media post on X.

“Our office will go to court to… block the unlawful orders, and maintain MPD under District control. We have no choice but to stand up for D.C. residents' rights and safety.”