President Trump wrote Sunday that homeless individuals must be moved out of Washington, D.C., “IMMEDIATELY” and relocated “FAR” away, as he hints at extra aggressive policing within the nation’s capital — and suggests placing town beneath federal management.
The Trump administration announced last week it had boosted the presence of federal legislation enforcement in D.C., after the alleged assault of a former Division of Authorities Effectivity, or DOGE, staffer. In a sequence of Reality Social posts over the weekend, the president prompt he might take additional motion, announcing a Monday morning press conference he stated would “contain ending the Crime, Homicide, and Loss of life in our Nation’s Capital.”
Mr. Trump’s doable subsequent steps stay unclear.
“The Homeless have to maneuver out, IMMEDIATELY. We will provide you with locations to remain, however FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you do not have to maneuver out. We will put you in jail the place you belong,” Mr. Trump wrote in a Sunday morning Truth Social put up accompanied by images of roadside encampments and rubbish.
“There will likely be no ‘MR. NICE GUY,'” the president continued. “We would like our Capital BACK.”
Hours later, Mr. Trump wrote: “Earlier than the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was essentially the most lovely Capital within the World. It can quickly be that once more.”
Final week, the president additionally threatened to “exert my powers” to place Washington beneath federal management. A spokeswoman with the FBI Washington Discipline Workplace on Sunday confirmed to CBS Information that its brokers are “collaborating within the elevated federal legislation enforcement presence in Washington, D.C.”
Mr. Trump has floated the thought of federalizing D.C. previously. His newest name to take over town was pushed by an alleged assault on ex-DOGE worker Edward Coristine throughout a weekend carjacking try. Mr. Trump posted about the incident on Tuesday and appeared to share a photograph of Coristine. Writing that crime within the capital is “completely uncontrolled,” he prompt a federal takeover of Washington if town’s native authorities “does not get its act collectively, and rapidly.”
The president likely doesn’t have the authority to completely federalize the capital metropolis — except Congress repeals a 1973 legislation that gave town’s residents the facility to elect their very own mayor and metropolis council. He can briefly take over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Division if he “determines that particular situations of an emergency nature exist which require using the Metropolitan Police power for federal functions,” but it surely’s not clear that the authorized situations are met.
Mr. Trump additionally stated Sunday that his press convention will concentrate on “Cleanliness and the Basic Bodily Renovation and Situation of our as soon as lovely and nicely maintained Capital,” citing a pricey Federal Reserve office renovation project.
Violent crime is dropping in D.C.
Violent crime in D.C. has been declining for the final yr and a half after spiking in 2023, in line with native police information. Thus far this yr, robberies have dropped by 29% and total violent crime is down 26%, as of August 6. Final yr, violent crime within the capital metropolis hit its lowest degree in additional than 30 years, the Justice Department stated.
In the meantime, about 5,138 individuals are homeless in D.C., down 9% year-over-year, in line with a tally carried out earlier this yr by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. That is greater than 2022 and 2023’s figures, which put the variety of homeless individuals beneath 5,000, however decrease than the greater than 6,000 homeless individuals who have been reported all through the 2010s.
Mr. Trump has pressed cities like D.C. to take away homeless individuals from the streets. He signed an govt order final month telling the Justice Division to “reverse judicial precedents and finish consent decrees that restrict state and native governments’ potential to commit people on the streets who’re a threat to themselves or others.” It additionally directed federal companies to prioritize grants to cities that “implement prohibitions on open illicit drug use, city tenting and loitering.” The transfer drew criticism from advocacy teams just like the Nationwide Homelessness Legislation Heart.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser advised MSNBC on Sunday she is not certain what the president’s Monday announcement will likely be however she suspects “he’s surging federal legislation enforcement.”
Bowser spoke to the cable community earlier than Mr. Trump’s most up-to-date posts on Sunday, which included some criticism of the mayor. He wrote on Reality Social that Bowser “is an efficient one that has tried, however she has been given many probabilities, and the Crime Numbers worsen, and the Metropolis solely will get dirtier and fewer enticing.”
The mayor defended native officers’ dealing with of crime within the metropolis, saying on MSNBC the police and its federal companions “have spent during the last two years driving down violent crime on this metropolis.” She added that town does want federal help, pointing to the truth that D.C. prosecutors work for the Justice Division and native judges are nominated by the president.
“We aren’t experiencing a spike in crime,” Bowser stated. “In actual fact, we’re watching our crime numbers go down.”
contributed to this report.
