Trump’s federal takeover cleared dozens of homeless encampments in D.C., igniting fury, displacement, and deeper distrust

17 August 2025

A garbage truck appears at a homeless encampment in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 14, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty

When President Trump invoked executive power to temporarily federalize the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., he framed it as a bold response to rampant crime and homelessness. Following his directive under an initiative he dubbed “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” federal agents and the National Guard descended on the capital’s streets. In the weeks since, at least 70 to 75 homeless encampments have been cleared, particularly near highways and iconic landmarks. The swift and stark enforcement marked a startling escalation.

Federal officials portrayed the action as rooted in compassion. Outreach workers were deployed, and individuals were offered temporary shelter and social services. But many of the city’s unhoused inhabitants resisted. Some elders and those with deep-rooted fears about institutional environments described shelters as unsafe or unwelcoming. The experience rekindled old wounds. “They don’t want to be reminded that poor people exist,” one advocate said, capturing the despair and resentment felt by many.

The trauma was not just physical but deeply psychological. Advocates and residents questioned the narrative of safety. If federal statistics showed violent crime was already declining, why such an aggressive display of force? The city’s federalized approach, critics argued, appeared less about public safety and more about optics. It broadcast power neatly removing camp-litter from tourist views while hawking a semblance of order.

Homeless advocates denounced the strategy as cruelly efficient. Their experience tells a different story: sweeps rarely reduce homelessness. Instead, they scatter people often causing them to lose identification, medications, and the few belongings they possess. The result is fragmentation, not assistance. Without proper, humane intervention, these actions deepen vulnerability.

Meanwhile, the mayor and D.C. officials found themselves caught in a legal and political limbo. The campaign featured federal agents, the National Guard, and new oversight from Trump’s Department of Homeland Security appointees. It bypassed local governance in ways rarely seen, stirring questions about the erosion of D.C.’s autonomy and fueling long-standing statehood debates.

Public support did not mirror the sheen of Federal order. Polling showed a vast majority of D.C. residents opposed the takeover of local police and the encampment clearances. Many also disapproved of involving police in immigration enforcement. The city’s trust in federal authority was fraying fast.

Even conservative columns couldn’t ignore the disconnect. Cherry-picked crime data and rhetoric about “bedlam” felt performative. Encampments were removed, but underlying issues, mental health needs, affordable housing crises, budget cuts to critical services remained unaddressed. Empty tents don’t equal solutions.

For the individuals displaced, consequences were deeply human. Some scattered across nearby neighborhoods or into surrounding Virginia, increasing pressure on neighboring county shelters. Arlington, for example, is already grappling with rising demand. Advocacy groups warn the ripple effects of D.C.’s push are only beginning to strain regional services.

Through it all, the clear-cut consequence is clear: communities were disrupted, trust was broken, and the spectacle of order masked deeper dysfunction. Arguments over jurisdiction and authority became academic if the people displaced were left behind, unseen and unsupported in the name of cleanliness.

The “Safe and Beautiful” campaign may have cleared visuals, but at what cost? Public safety is not fixed by removing individuals from view. It is built through lasting investment in compassion, services, housing, and dignity.