United States President, Donald Trump, has declared that homeless people must “move out” of Washington DC as part of his plan to tackle crime in the capital.
This move has drawn sharp criticism from the city’s mayor, who rejected the White House’s comparison of the city to Baghdad, Iraq.
The Republican leader, who has announced a Monday news conference to unveil his strategy for making the city “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before,” clashed with Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser over the need for federal intervention.
Trump in July signed an order simplifying the arrest process for homeless individuals and recently deployed federal law enforcement to the streets of the capital.
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “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.”
Accompanied by images of tents and litter, he continued, “There will be no ‘MR. NICE GUY.’ We want our Capital BACK. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
While details of his new plan remain unclear, Trump previously suggested, in a 2022 speech, relocating homeless individuals to “high quality” tent facilities on inexpensive land outside cities, with access to bathrooms and medical staff.
On Friday, Trump ordered federal agents from multiple agencies, including the US Park Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and the US Marshals Service, into Washington DC, describing crime levels as “totally out of control.”
According to NPR, around 450 officers were deployed on Saturday night, with the National Guard also under consideration.
The president’s push followed an alleged attempted carjacking that left a 19-year-old former Department of Government Efficiency employee injured, an incident Trump condemned online, sharing a photo of the bloodied victim.
Bowser, speaking to MSNBC, dismissed claims of a current crime surge. “It is true that we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023,” she said. “We have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city, driving it down to a 30-year low.”
She also rejected White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s portrayal of Washington DC as “more violent than Baghdad,” calling it “hyperbolic and false.”
While the city’s homicide rate remains high compared to other US cities, with 98 recorded so far this year, federal data from January shows overall violent crime, including carjackings, assaults, and robberies, at its lowest point in three decades.
Trump is expected to outline on Monday measures aimed at ending “crime, murder and death” in the city alongside plans for its “physical renovation.”
He described Bowser as “a good person who has tried,” but insisted crime was still getting “worse” and the capital “dirtier and less attractive.”
According to Community Partnership, an organisation focused on reducing homelessness, Washington DC has around 3,782 homeless people on any given night, with roughly 800 living on the streets.
Although the federal government has limited authority over the district, the president controls federal land and buildings in the city.
Trump has threatened to take over the Metropolitan Police Department, but Bowser insists this is not legally possible under current conditions.
“There are very specific things in our law that would allow the president to have more control over our police department,” she said. “None of those conditions exist in our city right now.”
Trump’s move follows his previous clashes with Democratic-led cities, including Los Angeles, where his deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to address unrest over immigration raids is now the subject of an ongoing legal dispute in federal court.
