Trump says homeless should leave D.C. "IMMEDIATELY" — after floating federal takeover of capital
The Trump administration announced last week it had boosted the presence of federal law enforcement in D.C., after the alleged assault of a former Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, staffer. In a series of Truth Social posts over the weekend, the president suggested he may take further action, announcing a Monday morning press conference he said would "involve ending the Crime, Murder, and Death in our Nation's Capital."
Mr. Trump's possible next steps remain unclear.
"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong," Mr. Trump wrote in a Sunday morning Truth Social post accompanied by photos of roadside encampments and garbage.
"There will be no 'MR. NICE GUY,'" the president continued. "We want our Capital BACK."
Hours later, Mr. Trump wrote: "Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again."
Last week, the president also threatened to "exert my powers" to put Washington under federal control.
Mr. Trump has floated the idea of federalizing D.C. in the past. His latest call to take over the city was driven by an alleged attack on ex-DOGE employee Edward Coristine during a weekend carjacking attempt. Mr. Trump posted about the incident on Tuesday and appeared to share a photo of Coristine. Writing that crime in the capital is "totally out of control," he suggested a federal takeover of Washington if the city's local government "doesn't get its act together, and quickly."
The president likely doesn't have the authority to fully federalize the capital city — unless Congress repeals a 1973 law that gave the city's residents the power to elect their own mayor and city council. He can temporarily take over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department if he "determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for federal purposes," but it's not clear that the legal conditions are met.
Mr. Trump also said Sunday that his press conference will focus on "Cleanliness and the General Physical Renovation and Condition of our once beautiful and well maintained Capital," citing a pricey Federal Reserve office renovation project.
Violent crime in D.C. has been declining for the last year and a half after spiking in 2023, according to local police data. So far this year, robberies have dropped by 29% and overall violent crime is down 26%, as of August 6. Last year, violent crime in the capital city hit its lowest level in more than 30 years, the Justice Department said.
Meanwhile, about 5,138 people are homeless in D.C., down 9% year-over-year, according to a tally conducted earlier this year by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. That's higher than 2022 and 2023's figures, which put the number of homeless people below 5,000, but lower than the more than 6,000 homeless people who were reported throughout the 2010s.
Mr. Trump has pressed cities like D.C. to remove homeless people from the streets. He signed an executive order last month telling the Justice Department to "reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit state and local governments' ability to commit individuals on the streets who are a risk to themselves or others." It also directed federal agencies to prioritize grants to cities that "enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering." The move drew criticism from advocacy groups like the National Homelessness Law Center.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told MSNBC on Sunday she isn't sure what the president's Monday announcement will be but she suspects "he is surging federal law enforcement."
Bowser spoke to the cable network before Mr. Trump's most recent posts on Sunday, which included some criticism of the mayor. He wrote on Truth Social that Bowser "is a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances, and the Crime Numbers get worse, and the City only gets dirtier and less attractive."
The mayor defended local officials' handling of crime in the city, saying on MSNBC the police and its federal partners "have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city." She added that the city does need federal assistance, pointing to the fact that D.C. prosecutors work for the Justice Department and local judges are nominated by the president.
"We are not experiencing a spike in crime," Bowser said. "In fact, we're watching our crime numbers go down."
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- Associated Press
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Newsweek
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Over Half of Americans Don't Trust Trump on Ukraine, Russia War: Poll
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