President Donald Trump’s latest push to overhaul Washington D.C. has set off a firestorm of debate, as he ordered the immediate removal of the city’s homeless population and ramped up federal law enforcement on the capital’s streets. The move, announced on August 10, 2025, via Truth Social, comes amid Trump’s broader pledge to make the nation’s capital “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.” The president’s measures—ranging from deploying hundreds of federal agents to threatening a federal takeover of the D.C. police force—have drawn both sharp criticism and fervent support, laying bare a city at the center of America’s ongoing battles over crime, homelessness, and federal authority.
“We’re having a News Conference tomorrow in the White House. I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before. The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” Trump declared in his Sunday social media post, according to TNND. He added, “We’re going to put you in jail where you belong. It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border.” The president’s tone was unmistakable: “There will be no ‘MR. NICE GUY.’ We want our Capital BACK.”
Trump’s crackdown follows a recent high-profile crime: the assault of a 19-year-old former employee of the Department of Government Efficiency in an attempted carjacking. Trump highlighted the incident on social media, posting a graphic image of the injured staffer and warning, “If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore.”
In the days leading up to the announcement, the Trump administration authorized the deployment of up to 450 federal officers from agencies including the FBI, U.S. Park Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, and U.S. Marshals Service. According to USNN, about 120 FBI agents—many from counterintelligence and public corruption divisions, with little traffic stop training—were assigned to overnight shifts to help local law enforcement prevent carjackings and violent crime. Agents from outside D.C., such as Philadelphia, were brought in to bolster the surge.
“Agents from the FBI Washington Field Office continue to participate in the increased federal law enforcement presence in D.C., which includes assisting our law enforcement partners,” the FBI said in a statement quoted by USNN. The Secret Service and its Uniformed Division were also directed to launch special patrols across the city, a move typically reserved for national security events, not routine crime prevention.
The president’s actions come on the heels of an executive order signed earlier this year establishing the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” a group charged with tackling quality-of-life issues like homelessness and graffiti. The order directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to remove all homeless people from the capital. Trump has floated the idea of relocating the homeless to “high quality” tents on inexpensive land outside cities, equipped with bathrooms and medical services, according to USNN.
Yet, as federal officers hit the streets, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back forcefully against Trump’s characterization of the city. “It is true that we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023,” Bowser told MSNBC, as reported by USNN. “We have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city, driving it down to a 30-year low.” Federal data supports her claim: violent crime in D.C. was down 26 percent compared to the same time in 2024, and homicides dropped by 12 percent, according to USNN. D.C. police have made about 900 juvenile arrests this year—almost 20 percent fewer than last year—with approximately 200 for violent crimes and at least four dozen for carjacking.
Despite the drop in crime, Trump has called for even tougher measures. He has advocated charging juveniles aged 14 or older as adults, blaming “youths” for the city’s crime rates. In response, D.C. instituted citywide curfews for those under 18, requiring them to be indoors from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am, and established Juvenile Curfew Zones where gatherings of eight or more are restricted.
Homelessness, meanwhile, remains a persistent challenge. According to Community Partnership, about 3,782 people are homeless in D.C. on any given night, with roughly 800 living on the streets. Trump’s plan to relocate the homeless far from the capital has drawn criticism from advocates and those affected. “That money could be better spent getting folks housing and support,” Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director at the National Homelessness Law Center, told USNN. Deborah Goosby, a 67-year-old homeless woman, responded bluntly to Trump’s orders: “That’s never going to happen. They can’t make me leave.”
The president’s critics argue that his approach is more about optics than substance. Mayor Bowser rejected comparisons of D.C. to war zones, such as the one made by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who described the city as “more violent than Baghdad.” Bowser also dismissed Trump’s threat to take over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, stating, “None of those conditions exist” in local law to grant him such authority.
For Trump and his supporters, the federal government’s unique authority over Washington D.C.—a city not granted full statehood—provides a legal foundation for these sweeping interventions. The Home Rule Act of 1973 gave residents the ability to elect their own mayor and council, but Congress and the president still retain significant oversight powers. A federal takeover of the police force would be an extraordinary assertion of power, one that local leaders have few avenues to resist.
Within federal law enforcement agencies, Trump’s moves have stirred unrest. The reassignment of FBI agents to street patrols has frustrated many in the Washington Field Office, who feel their expertise is being misapplied and morale is suffering. The recent ousting of FBI personnel across the country, including the head of the Washington Field Office, has only deepened the sense of instability.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt framed the administration’s efforts as a necessary response to protect citizens. “Washington, D.C., is an amazing city, but it has been plagued by violent crime for far too long. President Trump has directed an increased presence of federal law enforcement to protect innocent citizens. Starting tonight, there will be no safe harbor for violent criminals in D.C.,” she said, according to TNND.
Trump has promised that “D.C. will soon be the safest” city, touting the 35 percent drop in crime in 2024 as evidence his policies are working. But as the city braces for further federal intervention and as advocates warn of the human toll of forced removals, the debate over who controls the capital—and whose vision of safety and beauty will prevail—shows no signs of abating.
As Washington D.C. faces a pivotal moment, the outcome of Trump’s crackdown will reverberate far beyond the city’s borders, shaping national conversations about crime, homelessness, and the balance of power between local and federal government.