The nation’s capital has sued to block the Trump administration’s takeover of its police force — hours after Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed a Drug Enforcement Agency official as the emergency manager of the department.

District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb sought an emergency restraining order, arguing that the president has exceeded his legal powers in his efforts to tackle violent crime in Washington, DC.

“The administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it,” Schwalb said.

The lawsuit was filed late Thursday night after Bondi announced that DEA administrator Terry Cole has been named the Metropolitan Police Department’s “Emergency Police Commissioner for the duration of the emergency declared by the President.”

Cole will have the authority to issue any commands to cops while the MPD’s 3,400-member police force remains under federal control, Bondi said. 

It was unclear where the move left the city’s current police chief, Pamela Smith, who works for the mayor.

On Monday, Trump invoked powers granted to him under the DC Home Rule Act that allow him to place the MPD under his control during a public safety emergency. He tapped Bondi to be in charge of coordinating with local cops.

Under the 1973 law, Trump has the local force at his disposal for 30 days — until Sept. 10 — after which point Congress will need to approve continued federal control of the department. 

The president has also activated the DC National Guard to protect federal assets.

Democratic DC Mayor Muriel Bowser joined Schwalb in pushing back on the move, posting on social media Thursday that “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”

Schwalb wrote in a memo addressed to Chief Smith that “the Bondi Order is unlawful, and that you are not legally obligated to follow it.”

The act, according to the AG, “does not authorize the President, or his delegee, to remove or replace the Chief of Police; to alter the chain of command within MPD; to demand services directly from you, MPD, or anyone other than the Mayor; to rescind or suspend MPD orders or directives; or to set the general enforcement priorities of MPD or otherwise determine how the District pursues purely local law enforcement.”

Cole’s appointment was announced hours after Smith directed DC cops to only assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by transporting migrants apprehended by ICE and sharing information about individuals detained during traffic stops. 

The Justice Department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief’s directive because it perpetuates the city’s “sanctuary policies,” which limits cooperation between local cops and ICE officials.

Bondi rescinded Smith’s order as well as other MPD policies limiting police from using law enforcement databases to inquire about a person’s immigration status and preventing arrests based solely on ICE detainers.

Any new orders will come from Cole, she said.

The clash of jurisdictions is likely to set up a legal clash between the heavily Democratic district and the Republican administration.

Schwalb was elected by residents as DC’s attorney general, the city’s top prosecutor, which is separate from the federal US attorney to the district, former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who was appointed by Trump to the position earlier this month. Bondi was also appointed as Attorney General by the president and was not elected.

Hundreds of police and federal officers have increased their visibility patrolling the streets of DC and guarding national monuments

Since the Trump administration first ordered federal law enforcement to hit the DC streets Aug. 7, authorities have arrested more than 150 people on charges including homicide and drug and weapons violations.

DC residents have noticed the escalation in law enforcement, which has sparked protests and even inspired one outraged DOJ employee to hurl a Subway sandwich at a federal officer patrolling the streets.

With Post Wires