White House hints at National Guard deployment; Bowser rejects claims of surging crime

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated a political and policing showdown in the American capital, ordering homeless people to “move out” of Washington, D.C., while vowing to make the city “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.”

The Republican president announced on his social media platform Truth Social that those without housing would be relocated “FAR from the Capital” to designated facilities, warning that there would be “no ‘Mr. Nice Guy.’”

He paired the statement with photos of encampments and litter, adding that criminals “will be put in jail where you belong.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, pushed back strongly on Sunday, telling American News Outlet MSNBC: “We are not experiencing a crime spike… Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false.”

Her comments came after White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller likened D.C. to Baghdad, Iraq — a comparison Bowser called inaccurate and inflammatory.

Federal Agents Flood City Streets

Trump’s order follows an incident in which a 19-year-old former employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was injured in an alleged attempted carjacking, an event the president highlighted online with images of the victim.

On Friday, Trump directed a coordinated federal response that brought agents from the U.S. Park Police, DEA, FBI, and U.S. Marshals Service into the city.

The White House confirmed that up to 450 federal officers were deployed Saturday night, with the administration also weighing a potential National Guard activation.

In 2022, Trump had outlined a similar approach for homelessness in U.S. cities, proposing relocations to “high-quality” tent facilities on inexpensive land, with access to bathrooms and medical care.

Mayor Disputes Crime Narrative

Bowser acknowledged that Washington saw a spike in violent crime in 2023 but noted that levels have since dropped to a 30-year low, citing federal statistics showing declines in overall violent crime, including carjackings, assaults, and robberies.

Still, the city’s homicide rate remains high by national standards, with 98 killings recorded so far this year in the district of roughly 700,000 residents. The Community Partnership, a local nonprofit, estimates that about 3,782 people are homeless on any given night, with roughly 800 living on the streets.

Jurisdictional Tensions Rise

Because Washington, D.C., is a federal district rather than a state, the U.S. president has unique authority over certain lands, buildings, and security operations. Trump has hinted at taking control of the Metropolitan Police Department — something Bowser says is legally impossible under current conditions.

Trump has promised to detail his crime-reduction plan at a White House news conference scheduled for Monday at 10:00 EDT (14:00 GMT), pledging to address “crime, murder, and death” as well as the “physical renovation” of the city.

The standoff adds to a growing list of clashes between the president and Democratic-run cities. In recent months, Trump has also faced legal battles over his deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles during unrest tied to immigration enforcement actions.