Trump vows to evict Washington homeless, troops readied
While details of the plan were unclear, the administration is preparing to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, a US official told Reuters, a controversial tactic Trump used recently in Los Angeles to tackle immigration protests.
Trump has not made a final decision, the official said, adding the number of troops and their role are still being determined.
Unlike in California and every other state, where the governor typically decides when to activate Guard troops, the president directly controls the National Guard in Washington, D.C.
Past instances of the Guard's deployment in the city include in response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "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."
The White House declined to explain what legal authority Trump would use to evict people from Washington. The Republican president controls only federal land and buildings in the city.
Trump plans to hold a press conference later on Monday to "stop violent crime in Washington, D.C." It was not clear whether he would announce more details of his eviction plan then.
There are 3782 single persons experiencing homelessness on any given night in the US city of about 700,000, says the Community Partnership, an organisation working to reduce homelessness in D.C.
Most such individuals are in emergency shelters or transitional housing, rather than on the street, it says.
A White House official said on Friday more federal law enforcement officers were being deployed in the city following a violent attack on a young administration staffer that angered the president.
Alleged crimes investigated by federal agents on Friday night included "multiple persons carrying a pistol without license," motorists driving on suspended licenses and dirt bike riding, a White House official said.
The official said 450 federal law enforcement officers were deployed across the city on Saturday.
The city's police department says violent crime was down 26 per cent in D.C. in the first seven months of 2025, compared with last year, while overall crime was down about seven per cent.
The Democratic mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, said the US capital was "not experiencing a crime spike."
"It is true that we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023," Bowser said on MSNBC's the Weekend. "We have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city, driving it down to a 30-year low."
Bowser said Trump was "very aware" of the city's work with law enforcement after meeting him several weeks ago in the Oval Office.
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Australia and allies call on Israel to let aid into Gaza
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Australia is among 29 countries that issued a joint statement overnight calling for urgent action by Israel to allow aid to enter Gaza. "The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. Famine is unfolding before our eyes," the statement said. "Humanitarian space must be protected and aid should never be politicised." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Israel's actions in blocking aid to the region was "not defensible". "It's certainly not something that's consistent with international law," he told ABC radio on Wednesday. "We're also seeing people killed while trying to get access to food and water. Now, in 2025 that's completely unacceptable. "It is an affront to common decency and community humanity what is happening in Gaza." Israel has denied responsibility for the lack of food in the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of stealing aid shipments. It has also denied there is starvation among the population, although it has throttled the flow of food to Gaza for months, according to international human rights groups. The prime minister's latest comments come two days after he announced Australia would recognise Palestinian statehood at September's UN General Assembly, joining the UK, France and Canada in the move. The shift means Australia's foreign policy has diverged from that of the US, a key ally that has for decades opposed formal recognition of Palestine. However, the White House has declined to directly criticise Australia for its actions in recognising Palestine after US President Donald Trump suggested a similar move from Canada could affect trade talks. A spokesman told Nine newspapers the president had an open mind on the status of Palestine, despite not backing statehood. Mr Albanese said the US would have a critical role to play in peace talks. "One of the things that has defined president Trump's position internationally on global affairs is that he is an advocate for peace and he's been an advocate for peace in the Middle East for a long period of time," he said. While some have argued Australia's decision to break from the US could imperil the bilateral relationship, Flinders University international relations expert Jessica Genauer said the government's diplomatic calculus had helped dampen any impact. "Because Australia waited until other important countries all said they're planning to recognise Palestine ... I don't think it will be singled out by the US," Dr Genauer told AAP. "The Trump administration is opposed to countries recognising Palestine, but I think that they would put Australia in with a whole group of other countries and it wouldn't particularly be detrimental to Australia's relationship." Australia will join more than 140 UN member states in recognising Palestine, but Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the prime minister's priorities were wrong. "He's clearly distracted by what he's been talking about now for weeks with respect to Palestinian recognition, that is actually not going to make the world a safer place," she told Seven's Sunrise program. The coalition has pledged to reverse the recognition decision should it win the next election. Crossbench senator Fatima Payman, who defected from Labor in 2024 after criticising the government's stance on the Middle East, said recognising statehood was overdue but could not be an end point. "Symbolism matters, but saving lives matters more so when we're thinking about what Australia needs to do next, it's to make sure that they keep that pressure on Israel," she told ABC radio. Israel limiting humanitarian aid into Gaza goes against international law and is an "affront to common decency", the prime minister says. Australia is among 29 countries that issued a joint statement overnight calling for urgent action by Israel to allow aid to enter Gaza. "The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. Famine is unfolding before our eyes," the statement said. "Humanitarian space must be protected and aid should never be politicised." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Israel's actions in blocking aid to the region was "not defensible". "It's certainly not something that's consistent with international law," he told ABC radio on Wednesday. "We're also seeing people killed while trying to get access to food and water. Now, in 2025 that's completely unacceptable. "It is an affront to common decency and community humanity what is happening in Gaza." Israel has denied responsibility for the lack of food in the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of stealing aid shipments. It has also denied there is starvation among the population, although it has throttled the flow of food to Gaza for months, according to international human rights groups. The prime minister's latest comments come two days after he announced Australia would recognise Palestinian statehood at September's UN General Assembly, joining the UK, France and Canada in the move. The shift means Australia's foreign policy has diverged from that of the US, a key ally that has for decades opposed formal recognition of Palestine. However, the White House has declined to directly criticise Australia for its actions in recognising Palestine after US President Donald Trump suggested a similar move from Canada could affect trade talks. A spokesman told Nine newspapers the president had an open mind on the status of Palestine, despite not backing statehood. Mr Albanese said the US would have a critical role to play in peace talks. "One of the things that has defined president Trump's position internationally on global affairs is that he is an advocate for peace and he's been an advocate for peace in the Middle East for a long period of time," he said. While some have argued Australia's decision to break from the US could imperil the bilateral relationship, Flinders University international relations expert Jessica Genauer said the government's diplomatic calculus had helped dampen any impact. "Because Australia waited until other important countries all said they're planning to recognise Palestine ... I don't think it will be singled out by the US," Dr Genauer told AAP. "The Trump administration is opposed to countries recognising Palestine, but I think that they would put Australia in with a whole group of other countries and it wouldn't particularly be detrimental to Australia's relationship." Australia will join more than 140 UN member states in recognising Palestine, but Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the prime minister's priorities were wrong. "He's clearly distracted by what he's been talking about now for weeks with respect to Palestinian recognition, that is actually not going to make the world a safer place," she told Seven's Sunrise program. The coalition has pledged to reverse the recognition decision should it win the next election. Crossbench senator Fatima Payman, who defected from Labor in 2024 after criticising the government's stance on the Middle East, said recognising statehood was overdue but could not be an end point. "Symbolism matters, but saving lives matters more so when we're thinking about what Australia needs to do next, it's to make sure that they keep that pressure on Israel," she told ABC radio. Israel limiting humanitarian aid into Gaza goes against international law and is an "affront to common decency", the prime minister says. Australia is among 29 countries that issued a joint statement overnight calling for urgent action by Israel to allow aid to enter Gaza. "The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. Famine is unfolding before our eyes," the statement said. "Humanitarian space must be protected and aid should never be politicised." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Israel's actions in blocking aid to the region was "not defensible". "It's certainly not something that's consistent with international law," he told ABC radio on Wednesday. "We're also seeing people killed while trying to get access to food and water. Now, in 2025 that's completely unacceptable. "It is an affront to common decency and community humanity what is happening in Gaza." Israel has denied responsibility for the lack of food in the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of stealing aid shipments. It has also denied there is starvation among the population, although it has throttled the flow of food to Gaza for months, according to international human rights groups. The prime minister's latest comments come two days after he announced Australia would recognise Palestinian statehood at September's UN General Assembly, joining the UK, France and Canada in the move. The shift means Australia's foreign policy has diverged from that of the US, a key ally that has for decades opposed formal recognition of Palestine. However, the White House has declined to directly criticise Australia for its actions in recognising Palestine after US President Donald Trump suggested a similar move from Canada could affect trade talks. A spokesman told Nine newspapers the president had an open mind on the status of Palestine, despite not backing statehood. Mr Albanese said the US would have a critical role to play in peace talks. "One of the things that has defined president Trump's position internationally on global affairs is that he is an advocate for peace and he's been an advocate for peace in the Middle East for a long period of time," he said. While some have argued Australia's decision to break from the US could imperil the bilateral relationship, Flinders University international relations expert Jessica Genauer said the government's diplomatic calculus had helped dampen any impact. "Because Australia waited until other important countries all said they're planning to recognise Palestine ... I don't think it will be singled out by the US," Dr Genauer told AAP. "The Trump administration is opposed to countries recognising Palestine, but I think that they would put Australia in with a whole group of other countries and it wouldn't particularly be detrimental to Australia's relationship." Australia will join more than 140 UN member states in recognising Palestine, but Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the prime minister's priorities were wrong. "He's clearly distracted by what he's been talking about now for weeks with respect to Palestinian recognition, that is actually not going to make the world a safer place," she told Seven's Sunrise program. The coalition has pledged to reverse the recognition decision should it win the next election. Crossbench senator Fatima Payman, who defected from Labor in 2024 after criticising the government's stance on the Middle East, said recognising statehood was overdue but could not be an end point. "Symbolism matters, but saving lives matters more so when we're thinking about what Australia needs to do next, it's to make sure that they keep that pressure on Israel," she told ABC radio.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
White House threatens Washington homeless with jail
Homeless people in Washington, D.C., could face jail time if they do not comply with President Donald Trump's efforts to crack down on crime and rid the US capital of homeless encampments, the White House says. "Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental-health services, and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Leavitt said the administration was exploring strategies to relocate homeless individuals "far from the capital." She said US Park Police have removed 70 homeless encampments from federal parks since March and are set to clear the remaining two encampments in the city later this week. Andy Wassenich, director of policy at Miriam's Kitchen - an organisation offering services to the homeless - said his team was out trying to warn people. He said there was still a lot of confusion about what the crackdown may bring. Their best advice, he said, was: "Go to shelter if you can, if you can stand it. If you have anybody you can stay with, get off the street, and seek safety and let us know what we can do for you." Trump said on social media that he wanted the homeless out of Washington even before he announced the extraordinary step of temporarily taking over the District of Columbia's police department and deploying 800 National Guard troops as part of a crackdown on crime there - an effort that also includes another 500 federal law enforcement agents. A billionaire real estate developer, Trump described the homeless as one of several groups who have "overtaken" Washington that include "violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs." He likened his intended crackdown to his administration's actions to secure the US border with Mexico. US communities have long experienced seemingly intractable problems with homelessness, which reached an all-time national high of over 771,000 men, women and children on a single night in 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's latest homelessness report to Congress. The HUD report estimated Washington's homeless population at 5616, a 14.1 per cent increase from the year before. That made Washington, a city of just over 700,000 people, the 16th out of the 20 US cities with the largest homeless populations, according to the website USA Facts. The top five cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Denver. But the District of Columbia had the highest prevalence of homelessness among US states, with 83 homeless individuals for every 10,000 people, HUD data showed. with DPA Homeless people in Washington, D.C., could face jail time if they do not comply with President Donald Trump's efforts to crack down on crime and rid the US capital of homeless encampments, the White House says. "Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental-health services, and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Leavitt said the administration was exploring strategies to relocate homeless individuals "far from the capital." She said US Park Police have removed 70 homeless encampments from federal parks since March and are set to clear the remaining two encampments in the city later this week. Andy Wassenich, director of policy at Miriam's Kitchen - an organisation offering services to the homeless - said his team was out trying to warn people. He said there was still a lot of confusion about what the crackdown may bring. Their best advice, he said, was: "Go to shelter if you can, if you can stand it. If you have anybody you can stay with, get off the street, and seek safety and let us know what we can do for you." Trump said on social media that he wanted the homeless out of Washington even before he announced the extraordinary step of temporarily taking over the District of Columbia's police department and deploying 800 National Guard troops as part of a crackdown on crime there - an effort that also includes another 500 federal law enforcement agents. A billionaire real estate developer, Trump described the homeless as one of several groups who have "overtaken" Washington that include "violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs." He likened his intended crackdown to his administration's actions to secure the US border with Mexico. US communities have long experienced seemingly intractable problems with homelessness, which reached an all-time national high of over 771,000 men, women and children on a single night in 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's latest homelessness report to Congress. The HUD report estimated Washington's homeless population at 5616, a 14.1 per cent increase from the year before. That made Washington, a city of just over 700,000 people, the 16th out of the 20 US cities with the largest homeless populations, according to the website USA Facts. The top five cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Denver. But the District of Columbia had the highest prevalence of homelessness among US states, with 83 homeless individuals for every 10,000 people, HUD data showed. with DPA Homeless people in Washington, D.C., could face jail time if they do not comply with President Donald Trump's efforts to crack down on crime and rid the US capital of homeless encampments, the White House says. "Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental-health services, and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Leavitt said the administration was exploring strategies to relocate homeless individuals "far from the capital." She said US Park Police have removed 70 homeless encampments from federal parks since March and are set to clear the remaining two encampments in the city later this week. Andy Wassenich, director of policy at Miriam's Kitchen - an organisation offering services to the homeless - said his team was out trying to warn people. He said there was still a lot of confusion about what the crackdown may bring. Their best advice, he said, was: "Go to shelter if you can, if you can stand it. If you have anybody you can stay with, get off the street, and seek safety and let us know what we can do for you." Trump said on social media that he wanted the homeless out of Washington even before he announced the extraordinary step of temporarily taking over the District of Columbia's police department and deploying 800 National Guard troops as part of a crackdown on crime there - an effort that also includes another 500 federal law enforcement agents. A billionaire real estate developer, Trump described the homeless as one of several groups who have "overtaken" Washington that include "violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs." He likened his intended crackdown to his administration's actions to secure the US border with Mexico. US communities have long experienced seemingly intractable problems with homelessness, which reached an all-time national high of over 771,000 men, women and children on a single night in 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's latest homelessness report to Congress. The HUD report estimated Washington's homeless population at 5616, a 14.1 per cent increase from the year before. That made Washington, a city of just over 700,000 people, the 16th out of the 20 US cities with the largest homeless populations, according to the website USA Facts. The top five cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Denver. But the District of Columbia had the highest prevalence of homelessness among US states, with 83 homeless individuals for every 10,000 people, HUD data showed. with DPA Homeless people in Washington, D.C., could face jail time if they do not comply with President Donald Trump's efforts to crack down on crime and rid the US capital of homeless encampments, the White House says. "Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental-health services, and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Leavitt said the administration was exploring strategies to relocate homeless individuals "far from the capital." She said US Park Police have removed 70 homeless encampments from federal parks since March and are set to clear the remaining two encampments in the city later this week. Andy Wassenich, director of policy at Miriam's Kitchen - an organisation offering services to the homeless - said his team was out trying to warn people. He said there was still a lot of confusion about what the crackdown may bring. Their best advice, he said, was: "Go to shelter if you can, if you can stand it. If you have anybody you can stay with, get off the street, and seek safety and let us know what we can do for you." Trump said on social media that he wanted the homeless out of Washington even before he announced the extraordinary step of temporarily taking over the District of Columbia's police department and deploying 800 National Guard troops as part of a crackdown on crime there - an effort that also includes another 500 federal law enforcement agents. A billionaire real estate developer, Trump described the homeless as one of several groups who have "overtaken" Washington that include "violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs." He likened his intended crackdown to his administration's actions to secure the US border with Mexico. US communities have long experienced seemingly intractable problems with homelessness, which reached an all-time national high of over 771,000 men, women and children on a single night in 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's latest homelessness report to Congress. The HUD report estimated Washington's homeless population at 5616, a 14.1 per cent increase from the year before. That made Washington, a city of just over 700,000 people, the 16th out of the 20 US cities with the largest homeless populations, according to the website USA Facts. The top five cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Denver. But the District of Columbia had the highest prevalence of homelessness among US states, with 83 homeless individuals for every 10,000 people, HUD data showed. with DPA
