Attorney General Pam Bondi tapped the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Thursday to serve as Washington’s “emergency police commissioner,” a move to wrest power from the District’s current police chief amid the Trump administration’s law enforcement takeover.

The White House has backed off plans for a full takeover of the D.C. police force and will allow for the city’s police chief to remain in charge after a judge indicated they would block the move.

The attorney general’s comments came as she issued a new directive voiding commands issued – as recently as earlier Thursday –  by DC Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith.

The meeting came after Trump on Monday announced plans to use a 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act provision to send National Guard troops to D.C. and temporarily federalize the city.

The left sees President Donald Trump’s attempted takeover of law enforcement in Washington as part of multifront march to autocracy