President Trump at the White House last Thursday. Photo: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric about crime and homelessness in Washington, D.C., Sunday, telling homeless individuals “move out” of the city “IMMEDIATELY.”

The latest: Hours after Trump’s announcement, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington Field Office confirmed via email that its agents “are participating in the increased federal law enforcement presence” in D.C.

The big picture: Trump’s view that crime in the nation’s capital is “totally out of control” has fueled his renewed threats for a federal takeover and orders to elevate federal law enforcement.

Despite D.C. crime rates falling, arrests for nonviolent offenses are up under Trump’s “D.C. Safe and Beautiful” executive order, which created a task force aimed at cracking down on city crime and facilitating a “more robust” federal law enforcement presence, Axios’ Anna Spiegel reports.

Driving the news: In a Sunday Truth Social post, Trump vowed to “make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.” The president said “we will give” homeless individuals “places to stay,” but that those would be “FAR from the Capital.”

Trump added that “[c]riminals” would be jailed — where he said they “belong” — and that it all will happen very fast.
“There will be no ‘MR. NICE GUY,’” Trump wrote in the post, which was accompanied by photos of roadside tents. “We want our Capital BACK.”

Catch up quick: Trump signed an executive order last month seeking to make it easier for cities to remove unhoused people, directing placement in “long-term” institutions for treatment to “restore public order.”

Advocacy groups slammed the order, which encourages the use of involuntary civil commitment — a process of placing people with mental health issues in treatment facilities without their consent.

What we’re watching: Trump, who has long bemoaned what he called the “horribly run” capital, shared Sunday’s post a day ahead of a planned news conference where he claimed he will “stop violent crime” in D.C.

Last week, after a former DOGE staffer was reportedly injured in an attempted carjacking, the president floated federalizing the city if “D.C. doesn’t get its act together.”
He then directed a seven-day operation to increase federal law enforcement in the city, focused on high-traffic tourist areas and other hotspots, multiple outlets reported.

What they’re saying: Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said in a Sunday evening statement that Trump’s actions had in “just a few nights” removed weapons and illegal drugs from D.C. streets “— and that’s not even taking into account the countless potential crimes that were deterred thanks to a large, visible law enforcement presence.”

The Trump administration “will continue taking action to make D.C. clean and safe,” she added in the email.

When asked for comment on reports that 120 FBI agents would be involved in the crackdown, Jackson said “there has been an increase in federal law enforcement officers” in D.C. in response to violent crime that included the bureau.
Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to Axios’ follow-up question on the number of FBI agents involved and the bureau declined to comment on the matter.

State of play: A full D.C. takeover would require Congress to overturn the city’s home rule, which allows residents to elect their mayor and council members.

Under that arrangement, Congress retains oversight of city laws, and the president can temporarily take over D.C. police if he “determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist.”

Yes, but: Even without removing home rule, there are other ways Trump could squeeze the city, such as by deploying the D.C. National Guard, which is under his command, or temporarily taking command of the Metropolitan Police Department.

The other side: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, appearing on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” Sunday, emphasized the decline in violent crime in the city for the second straight year, saying, “We are not experiencing a crime spike.”

“Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” she said.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comment from an FBI spokesperson and two statements from White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson.

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