He’s spent more than 31 years as a law enforcement officer, including 22 at the DEA. At the agency, he worked in Oklahoma, New York and Washington. He spent time overseas in Colombia, Afghanistan and the Middle East. The agency said he fought drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

Start your Friday with SOFREP’s Morning Brief, bringing you the latest in defense and global affairs for August 15, 2025.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole were both given authority over the MPD by Trump. Bondi was asked to "take command" of the department, while Cole was appointed as its interim federal commissioner.

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday issued a revised directive that leaves Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith in charge of the city's police force, following a successful emergency legal effort by local D.C. leaders that challenged the administration's attempted total takeover of the MPD as unlawful.

Bondi designated Terry Cole, who is primarily the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as the city's “emergency police commissioner," on Thursday and said the role gave Cole the same power as current Police Chief Pamela Smith.

Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order Thursday that amounted to a reversal of "sanctuary" policies in D.C. The District sued over the order Friday.

The Trump administration increased its grip on D.C. policing Thursday, with Attorney General Pam Bondi appointing Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole as the city's "emergency police commissioner.