Donald Trump orders homeless out of Washington DC, promises ‘safer, more beautiful’ capital

US President Donald Trump has sparked a heated political confrontation with Washington DC leadership after ordering a sweeping crackdown on homelessness and crime in the nation’s capital. The president declared that homeless individuals must “move out” of the city immediately, pledging to relocate them to facilities “far from the capital” while intensifying law enforcement presence on the streets.

In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The homeless have to move out, immediately. We will provide you with places to stay, but far from the capital. As for the criminals, you’re not moving out — you’re going to jail where you belong.” Sharing images of tents and litter, he added, “There will be no ‘Mr. Nice Guy.’ We want our capital back.”

The announcement comes ahead of a scheduled White House press conference on Monday, where Trump is expected to unveil a plan to make Washington DC “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.” While specifics remain unclear, in a 2022 speech, Trump suggested relocating homeless individuals to “high-quality” tents on inexpensive land outside urban centers, equipped with bathrooms and medical care.

On Friday, Trump ordered a surge of federal agents — including the US Park Police, DEA, FBI, and US Marshals Service — into Washington DC, deploying as many as 450 officers over the weekend. A White House official confirmed that the administration is considering National Guard involvement, although a final decision has not been made.

The crackdown follows a violent incident in which a 19-year-old former employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was assaulted in an attempted carjacking. Trump reacted by sharing an image of the bloodied victim online, calling the situation “totally out of control.”

Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser sharply rejected the White House’s characterisation of Washington as “more violent than Baghdad,” a comparison made by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. “Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” Bowser said. She acknowledged a “terrible spike in crime” in 2023 but stressed that violent crime has since dropped to a 30-year low.

Federal statistics from January back Bowser’s claim, showing declines in overall violent crime despite Washington still recording 98 homicides so far this year — a rate high for its population but part of a broader nationwide trend over the past decade.

Bowser also dismissed Trump’s threat to take control of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department, arguing no legal conditions exist for such a move.

According to The Community Partnership, Washington DC has about 3,782 homeless residents on any given night, with roughly 800 living on the streets. As a federal district, the city’s governance is subject to congressional oversight, giving the president some authority over federal property but not full jurisdiction over local agencies.

Trump’s renewed focus on Democratic-run cities follows similar clashes in Los Angeles earlier this year, where his deployment of National Guard troops after immigration raids prompted an ongoing legal battle.