‘Huge confidence in him’: DEA administrator to play key role overseeing DC police
Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole, the federal government’s new designee to help run the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, vowed to let local cops “do their job again” to get rising crime under control.
Cole was tapped by Attorney General Pam Bondi after the Trump administration announced on Monday a major intervention to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital. The move came after several high-profile violent crimes, including the murder of a Congressional intern.
“We cannot afford to turn a blind eye,” Cole told Fox News Channel’s “The Story” on Tuesday. “We have tremendous cooperation, tremendous intel sharing, and what’s most encouraging, the police are looking forward to doing their job again.”
According to an order released by Bondi on Friday, Cole’s role is defined as the “designee for the duration of the emergency declared by the President for the purpose of directing the Mayor of the District of Columbia to provide such services of the [MPD] as the Attorney General deems necessary and appropriate.”
“Attorney General Bondi’s new order is STRONGER because instead of rescinding just one bad MPD order this superseding order REQUIRES MPD’s full cooperation with federal immigration authorities,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an email on Saturday.
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“We are not backing down, as President Trump remains in control under the law to determine what is necessary and appropriate,” the spokesperson added.
Washington, D.C., Police Chief Pamela Smith will technically stay in her position, but Cole will play a key role in making sure city leaders such as Smith and Mayor Muriel Bowser comply with the federal government’s requests, especially in cooperation with immigration authorities.
Dozens of the arrests already made since the takeover have been of illegal immigrants, as ICE and other federal agencies are patrolling the streets of the capital.
“Attorney General Bondi just issued a new directive to Mayor Bowser requiring MPD to provide the services found necessary by her designee, DEA Administrator Terry Cole, to comply fully and completely with federal immigration law and authorities, regardless of any policies MPD might otherwise have. President Trump will continue pursuing all efforts to Make DC Safe Again and end violent crime despite liberal opposition,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
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Cole has an extensive background in law enforcement, including working at the DEA for over 20 years before retiring from the federal government in 2020, according to his profile on the DEA website. Afterward, he was the Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security from 2023 to 2025.
“I’m glad to see it happen under the leadership of Terry Cole,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business Network earlier this week, addressing how a similar law enforcement model will be employed in Northern Virginia in partnership with commonwealth and federal leaders.
“Terry Cole, who is now director and administrator of DEA, and is leading this effort on behalf of the administration, is the best man in the country to do this. I have huge confidence in him, and I want to thank President Trump for taking this big step,” the Republican governor added.
Youngkin noted in February that Cole played a major role in tackling illegal drugs in the commonwealth.
“His leadership of our Operation FREE initiative in Virginia resulted in the seizure of tens of thousands of pounds of illicit drugs—including more than 70 million lethal doses of fentanyl—and has become a standard for collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement,” Youngkin stated. “He will put the safety and security of Americans first as head of the DEA. It’s a great day to be an American and a bad day to be a drug dealer.”
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