Latest news with #chainofcommand
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Karoline Leavitt says chief of police now answers to Trump who is Commander-in-Chief of DC force
The White House has confirmed what it says is the temporary chain of command for the District of Columbia police force over the next month, placing the ultimate authority for the department with President Donald Trump. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that the Trump administration plans to 'work with' the department's existing command structure after Trump invoked a never-before-used authority in the city's home rule charter to take control of the police department, but she reiterated the new lines of responsibility that end in the Oval Office. 'Ultimately, the chain of command is as such: The President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, [and] our DEA administrator, Terry Cole, who is now serving ahead of the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department,' she said. Cole, who Trump announced as the acting head of the department at a Monday press conference, has temporarily replaced D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser as the person to whom MPD Chief Pamela Smith reports — according to the White House. But at a press conference on Tuesday, Smith said she is still reporting to Bowser as usual when asked if she had been reporting to Cole or Attorney General Pam Bondi. For her part, Bowser said the police department's organizational chart had not changed as a result of the president's unprecedented move, which he claimed was necessary because of what he described — inaccurately — as record crime levels akin to some of the world's most violent cities — even as the American capital has seen declines in murder and other violent crime over the past two years. The previously unused section of the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act Trump invoked in an executive order allows the president to use the Washington, D.C., police department for federal purposes for a 30-day period. It was intended for use during periods of civil unrest such as the riots that gripped the city and left parts of it burnt out and in ruins after the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But in practice there is no constraint on the president's ability to make use of the law so long as he 'determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for federal purposes.' Although D.C.'s murder rate hit levels not seen since the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s just two years ago, the period since has seen a steep decline under Smith, who was named to her role in 2023 after two years leading the U.S. Park Police. Statistics made public by the D.C. government and the Department of Justice show other violent crimes having declined during the same period. Yet Trump, whose view of Washington is largely limited to what he sees from his armored limousine while riding to and from the golf course he owns in Sterling, Virginia, described the situation in the capital as 'complete and total lawlessness.' He also blamed the 'dire public safety crisis' on 'the abject failures of the city's local leadership,' including the city's elected city council's decision to abolish cash bail as part of efforts to reduce racial inequities in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Karoline Leavitt says chief of police now answers to Trump who is Commander-in-Chief of DC force
The White House has confirmed the temporary chain of command for the District of Columbia police force over the next month, placing the ultimate authority for the department with President Donald Trump. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that the Trump administration plans to 'work with' the department's existing command structure after Trump invoked a never-before-used authority in the city's home rule charter to take control of the police department, but she reiterated the new lines of responsibility that end in the Oval Office. 'Ultimately, the chain of command is as such: The President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, [and] our DEA administrator, Terry Cole, who is now serving ahead of the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department,' she said. Cole, who Trump announced as the acting head of the department at a Monday press conference, has temporarily replaced D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser as the person to whom MPD Chief Pamela Smith reports. The president justified the unprecedented move as necessary because of what he described — inaccurately — as record crime levels akin to some of the world's most violent cities — even as the American capital has seen declines in murder and other violent crime over the past two years. The previously unused section of the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act Trump invoked in an executive order allows the president to use the Washington, D.C., police department for federal purposes for a 30-day period. It was intended for use during periods of civil unrest such as the riots that gripped the city and left parts of it burnt out and in ruins after the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But in practice there is no constraint on the president's ability to make use of the law so long as he 'determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for federal purposes.' Although D.C.'s murder rate hit levels not seen since the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s just two years ago, the period since has seen a steep decline under Smith, who was named to her role in 2023 after two years leading the U.S. Park Police. Statistics made public by the D.C. government and the Department of Justice show other violent crimes having declined during the same period. Yet Trump, whose view of Washington is largely limited to what he sees from his armored limousine while riding to and from the golf course he owns in Sterling, Virginia, described the situation in the capital as 'complete and total lawlessness.' He also blamed the 'dire public safety crisis' on 'the abject failures of the city's local leadership,' including the city's elected city council's decision to abolish cash bail as part of efforts to reduce racial inequities in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Fox News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
DC police chief ripped for 'mind blowing' response to basic policing question: 'Yikes'
Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith is facing backlash and mockery on social media after she appeared to not understand a question from the media about the department's "chain of command" amid President Donald Trump's recent federalization of the department. "Can you tell us what the chain of command is now?" a reporter was heard asking Smith during a press conference Tuesday morning. "What does that mean?" the police chief responded. "Well, is it Pam Bondi speaking to the mayor? Is it you? How does this work?" the reporter continued, before Bowser stepped in to explain the department's chain of command following Trump invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act Monday, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital's police force. The exchange came amid Bowser's brief press conference Tuesday morning following her meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi. "Our organizational chart, how we do business, how we fund the police, none of that has changed," Bowser explained, adding that Bondi is working as Trump's "proxy" under the federalization order and that the pair are in close communication. "We have more police, and we want to make sure we use them," she added. The exchange of Smith appearing to not understand the reporter's question on the department's "chain of command" sparked mockery and backlash online Tuesday afternoon. "This is who is in charge of the police in D.C..." popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted of the exchange. "This is why DEI is a disease," National Co-Chair of the RNC Youth Advisory Council CJ Pearson posted to X in response to the exchange. Smith previously served as the department's first chief equity officer, where she "led the department's efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion," according to her biography. "WTF! The DC Police Chief doesn't even know what Chain of Command means," another conservative X account posted in response. "Smith previously served as the Police Department's "Chief Equity Officer,'" the Trump War Room account posted to X. "MIND BLOWING: D.C. police chief reveals she DOES NOT KNOW what chain of command is. Folks, this is the Washington, D.C. POLICE Chief," another critic posted. "NEW: Washington DC Police Chief Pamela A. Smith doesn't know what the 'chain of command' means. … Yikes," Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg posted. Fox Digital reached out to the Metropolitan Police Department and Bowser's office for comment on the exchange and subsequent backlash, but did not immediately receive replies. Trump federalized the D.C. police department following a spate of high-profile attacks and killings in the city in recent weeks, including the fatal shooting of a congressional intern in June, the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy staffers in May, and a brutal attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer earlier in August. "Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people," he said. "And we're not going to let it happen anymore. We're not going to take it." Trump declared it was "Liberation Day in D.C.," adding, "We're going to take our capital back." "We're taking it back under the authority vested in me as the president of the United States. I'm officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. You know what that is. And placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control. … In addition, I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, D.C. And they're going to be allowed to do their job properly," he said Monday.
Fox News
12-08-2025
- Fox News
DC police chief delivers baffling response when asked about 'chain of command'
The chief of the Metropolitan Police Department asked "what does that mean" when questioned about the "chain of command" with the department.
The Independent
12-08-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Karoline Leavitt says chief of police now answers to Trump who is Commander-in-Chief of DC force
The White House has confirmed the temporary chain of command for the District of Columbia police force over the next month, placing the ultimate authority for the department with President Donald Trump. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday told reporters that the Trump administration plans to 'work with' the department's exiting command structure after Trump invoked a never-before-used authority in the city's home rule charter to take control of the police department, but she reiterated the new lines of responsibility that end in the Oval Office. 'Ultimately, the chain of command is as such: The President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, [and] our DEA administrator, Terry Cole, who is now serving ahead of the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department,' she said. Cole, who Trump announced as the acting head of the department at a press conference on Monday, has temporarily replaced D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser as the person to whom MPD Chief Pamela Smith reports. The president justified the unprecedented move as necessary because of what he described — inaccurately — as record crime levels akin to some of the world's most violent cities — even as the American capital has seen declines in murder and other violent crime for the past two years. The previously unused section of the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act Trump invoked in an executive order allows the president to use the Washington police department for federal purposes for a 30-day period. It was intended for use during periods of civil unrest like the riots that gripped the city and left parts of it burnt out and in ruins after the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but in practice there is no constraint on the president's ability to make use of the law so long as he 'determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for federal purposes.' Although Washington's murder rate hit levels not seen since the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s just two years ago, the period since has seen a steep decline under Smith, who was named to her role in 2023 after two years leading the U.S. Park Police. Statistics made public by the DC government and the Department of Justice show other violent crimes having declined during the same period. Yet Trump, whose view of Washington is largely limited to what he sees from his armored limousine while riding to and from the golf course he owns in Sterling, Virginia, described the situation in the capital as 'complete and total lawlessness.' He also blamed the 'dire public safety crisis' on 'the abject failures of the city's local leadership,' including the city's elected city council's decision to abolish cash bail as part of efforts to reduce racial inequities in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer.
