Trump to Sign Executive Order Addressing Homeless Camps, Crime in DC
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order directing Washington, DC, authorities to clear homeless encampments and implement measures aimed at reducing crime, according to a report by The Washington Post.
The order is anticipated to increase penalties for various offenses, including violent crimes involving firearms and petty crimes such as public urination. The White House has reportedly been in discussions with DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser regarding the initiative.
Additionally, the executive order would reinstate a 2020 directive signed by Trump aimed at protecting national monuments. The order is also expected to broadly focus on federal parks managed by the National Park Service.
“It’s hard to argue with the Park Service doing more to help the city,” said DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. “Although the federal government needs to follow that up with resources that the Park Service would need.”
Trump has repeatedly criticized Washington, DC, for its rampant crime and levels of homelessness. The executive order follows comments he made on the campaign trail about revitalizing the nation’s capital.
“We will take over the horribly run capital of our nation in Washington, DC, and clean it up, renovate it and rebuild our capital city so there is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime,” Trump said during his campaign last summer. “We’re going to get all the graffiti off the marble. We’re gonna fix the roads and the medians, which are falling down all over the streets.”
While crime in DC declined in 2024 compared to 2023, concerns have been raised over how crime data is reported. The Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, has reported that crime data does not include “crime totals as reported to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System.” The department also reports that homicides in 2025 are on the rise compared to the same period last year.
