Bangladesh, Aug. 14 -- On Monday, US President Donald Trump — declaring a “public safety emergency” — announced a federal takeover of Washington, DCs Metropolitan Police Department, while deploying 800 National Guard troops. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been placed in charge of operations, with DEA Administrator Terry Cole named interim commissioner.

Just a couple of months earlier, Trump had sent Californias National Guard to Los Angeles to address immigration protests — after the unrest had largely ceased, by the way. Rather than just a series of domestic maneuvers, such moves mark efforts to recalibrate the US federative framework, with global impacts.

The latest federal intervention, as a matter of fa...