President Donald Trump announced the federal government is taking control of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department. A White House official told NOTUS that the takeover “is expected to last 30 days,” but added that “is subject to change.”

Per federal law, the president can federalize the metropolitan police for 48 hours on his own. To extend that to a maximum of 30 days, the president needs to notify the congressional committees with jurisdiction over Washington, D.C. Anything longer than 30 days has to be authorized by Congress......

The White House has 48 hours from the moment it officially declares control of the D.C. police to notify the four members’ offices. If it fails to do so within that time frame, federal law prohibits the president from keeping control of the department for more than two days.

The politics get more complicated the longer Trump wants to control Washington police. A joint resolution to authorize the federalization of the D.C. police force beyond 30 days would require two-thirds of both chambers to pass, and it’s highly unlikely that Democrats would support it.