Trump threatens to evict homeless people from Washington DC

President Donald Trump has pledged to evict homeless people from Washington, D.C., and jail offenders, with a U.S. official saying the administration is preparing to deploy National Guard troops to the capital.

Trump made the remarks on Sunday, saying people experiencing homelessness would be relocated “far from the Capital” and criminals jailed. The White House has not clarified the legal basis for removing individuals, as the president directly controls only federal property in the city.

A U.S. official told Reuters that hundreds of Guard troops could be sent to Washington, though the number and their role are undecided. Unlike in U.S. states, where governors control the National Guard, the president has sole authority in the capital. Previous deployments have included the response to the 6 January, 2021 Capitol riot.

The city’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, rejected Trump’s claims of a crime wave, citing police data showing violent crime fell 26% in the first seven months of 2025 compared with the same period last year. She said Washington was at a “30-year low” for violent offences following a sharp rise in 2023.

Trump’s push follows the violent assault of a young White House staffer last week. A White House official said 450 federal law enforcement officers were deployed across Washington on Saturday, investigating alleged offences from unlicensed gun possession to illegal dirt bike riding.

The Community Partnership, a local non-profit, estimates 3,782 single people experience homelessness on any given night in the city of 700,000, with most in shelters or transitional housing.

For a full federal takeover of Washington’s government, legal experts say Congress would likely need to revoke the 1973 law granting the district an elected mayor and council.

Trump is due to hold a press conference on Monday morning on what he called a plan to “stop violent crime in Washington, D.C.”

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