Trump vows to evict homeless from Washington; National Guard may be deployed
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The White House declined to explain what legal authority US President Donald Trump would use to evict people from Washington.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump pledged on Aug 10 to evict homeless people
While details of the plan were unclear, the administration is preparing to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops
Mr Trump has not made a final decision, the official said, adding that the number of troops and their role are still being determined.
Unlike in California and every other state, where the governor typically decides when to activate Guard troops, the president directly controls the National Guard in Washington.
Past instances of the Guard’s deployment in the city include in response to the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
“The homeless have to move out, immediately,” Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “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.”
The White House declined to explain what legal authority Mr Trump would use to evict people from Washington. He controls only federal land and buildings in the city.
The Republican President planned to hold a press conference on Aug 11 to “stop violent crime in Washington”. It was not clear if he would announce more details of his eviction plan then.
There are 3,782 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the city of about 700,000, said the Community Partnership – an organisation working to reduce homelessness there.
Most such individuals are in emergency shelters or transitional housing, rather than on the street, it added.
A White House official said on Aug 8 that more federal law enforcement officers were being deployed in the city following a violent attack on a young administration staffer that angered Mr Trump.
Alleged crimes investigated by federal agents on the night of Aug 8 included “multiple persons carrying a pistol without licence”, motorists driving on suspended licences and dirt bike riding, a White House official said on Aug 10.
The official said 450 federal law enforcement officers were deployed across the city on Aug 9.
The city’s police department said violent crime was down 26 per cent in the first seven months of 2025, compared with 2024, while overall crime was down about 7 per cent.
On Aug 10, Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser said the capital was “not experiencing a crime spike”.
“It is true that we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023,” she said on MSNBC’s The Weekend.
“We have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city, driving it down to a 30-year low.”
Ms Bowser said Mr Trump was “very aware” of the city’s work with federal law enforcement after meeting him several weeks ago in the Oval Office.
The US Congress has control of the city’s budget after the district was established in 1790 with land from neighbouring Virginia and Maryland, but resident voters elect a mayor and city council.
For Mr Trump to take over the city, it is likely that Congress would have to pass a law revoking the law that established local elected leadership. REUTERS
