On Thursday, August 21, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a decisive directive that has shaken Washington, D.C.’s law enforcement establishment. Bondi announced that Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Terry Cole will temporarily assume “the powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police.” Under this order, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) must now receive approval from Commissioner Cole before issuing directives.
This sweeping move followed hours after MPD Chief Pamela Smith instructed her officers to share information with federal immigration agencies, but only regarding individuals not in custody -- such as those stopped during routine traffic encounters. Bondi disagreed, calling Smith’s order an extension of failed “sanctuary city” policies that weaken federal enforcement. In response, she rescinded Smith’s directive and several other MPD policies restricting immigration cooperation. From now on, every major law enforcement directive must flow through Commissioner Cole.
The city quickly filed suit against the Department of Justice, arguing that Bondi’s move violated the district’s autonomy. Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly objected but has so far complied with the order. The dispute, now heading to the courts, underscores the clash between federal authority and local leadership in a capital city already rattled by rising violence.
In the days following, the controversy exploded on national media. On Friday, during an interview on “State of the People Special: The Attack on Black America,” former MSNBC host Joy Reid pressed Mayor Bowser on why Chief Pamela Smith appeared sidelined. Reid insinuated that the move was racially motivated, calling it an example of what she derisively referred to as “Trump’s racist tourettes.” On social media, Reid escalated further, accusing the administration of attempting to “trigger a race panic about Black-run cities.”
But while Reid framed the issue in racial terms, the facts tell a more sobering story -- one about competence.
On Tuesday, August 19, 2025, video circulated of Chief Smith struggling to answer a straightforward question from a reporter about the department’s new chain of command. Instead of offering clarity, Smith awkwardly asked for an explanation of the term itself. The moment went viral, fueling criticism that the city’s top cop lacked basic command understanding.
Smith’s background has also come under scrutiny. Before being elevated to police chief in 2023, she was the department’s first Chief Equity Officer, tasked with overseeing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. While that role may have advanced certain cultural goals, it is no substitute for the operational command skills needed to lead a major police department in one of the nation’s most violent cities. Her inability to explain her own chain of command only reinforced doubts about her qualifications.
This is where Joy Reid’s narrative collapses. The decision to install Commissioner Cole was not about race -- it was about public safety. When lives are on the line, Washington, D.C. cannot afford leadership experiments or political appointments rooted in DEI checklists. It needs proven command, clarity of mission, and competence above all else.
Unfortunately, Reid’s attempt to spin Bondi’s move into a racial controversy distracts from the real crisis: a city losing control to violent crime. By defaulting to identity politics, she diminishes the seriousness of the moment and insults those -- both black and non-black -- who simply want safe neighborhoods.
Washington’s citizens deserve leaders who prioritize order and accountability, not political narratives that excuse incompetence. If Pamela Smith failed to understand the chain of command in her own department, the question is not whether her reassignment was racially motivated. The real question is why she was ever elevated to the role in the first place.
In an era where public safety is at stake, competence must come before politics. Race cannot be used as a shield for failed leadership. Pam Bondi made the right call -- one rooted not in prejudice, but in protecting the people of Washington, D.C.
Image: D.C. Metropolitan Police