Trump Vows to Remove D.C. Homeless, Relocate Them ‘Far from the Capital’

President Donald Trump on Sunday pledged to remove homeless people from Washington, D.C., and imprison criminals, despite the city’s mayor insisting there is no current crime surge.

“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, alongside photos of tent encampments and littered streets. He promised to make the capital “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.”

The White House declined to say what legal authority Trump would use to evict people from the city, noting he controls only federal property. Trump will hold a Monday press conference on “stopping violent crime in Washington, D.C.,” though it is unclear if he will detail the eviction plan.

According to the Community Partnership, about 3,782 single people experience homelessness in D.C. on any given night — most in shelters or transitional housing, with roughly 800 living unsheltered.

A White House official said more federal law enforcement officers are already being deployed following a violent attack on a young Trump staffer that angered the president.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, disputed Trump’s claims of rising crime. “We had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023,” she said on MSNBC, noting violent crime in the first seven months of 2025 is down 26% compared to last year, while overall crime is down about 7%, reaching a 30-year low.

While Congress has ultimate control over D.C.’s budget and governance, the city’s residents elect a mayor and council. Reasserting direct federal control would likely require new legislation, though Trump could deploy the National Guard — as his administration recently did in Los Angeles over local objections.