Trump targets DC in latest executive order, establishing 'Safe and Beautiful Task Force'

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order targeting D.C. The order establishes the "D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force," which reportedly aims to target crime, immigration and graffiti.

According to the White House, the task force is largely being established to address several crime-related issues that the Trump administration has noted as a priority. The order will also create a beautification program for the District.

Crime Enforcement

What we know:

The Trump administration says the task force will be made up of leaders with several key government agencies, although those leaders were not named on the White House website. 

The areas of crime the task force is expected to address include demonstrations, vandalism and public intoxication in public spaces, immigration enforcement, strengthening pre-trial detention policies, expediting concealed-carry licenses for gun owners and cracking down on fare evasion and crime on the Metro.

WMATA itself announced on Thursday that Metro Transit Police are working to ban serial offenders from its buses and trains.  

Metro officials say overall crime in the system is at a seven-year low but they have adopted a so-called "banning policy" that would apply to repeat offenders for sex crimes and assaults on customers and employees on trains, buses, at rail stations and in Metro parking lots.  

Beautification Efforts

What we know:

Trump's order says the administration will also create a program to restore and clean graffiti from federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways. 

It also directs the National Park Service to "rapidly" clear all homeless encampments and clean up graffiti on federal land.

This is not the president's first hard hit on homeless camps in D.C. Just a few weeks ago, Trump threatened D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, saying "she must clean up all the unsightly homeless encampments in the city," or the federal government would step in. 

Those comments were also made after Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he supports a "federal takeover" of D.C.

Threats to D.C. 

The backstory:

In February, Trump said the federal government should "take over" D.C. He complained about crime and homelessness in the District and said that the federal government would "make it safe."

"I think we should take over Washington, D.C.," Trump said. "I think that we should govern District of Columbia."

Under the terms of the city’s Home Rule authority, Congress already controls D.C. laws and has the power to overturn them but some congressional Republicans have sought to go further, eroding decades of the city’s limited autonomy and putting it back under direct federal control, as it was at its founding.

Trump has said he likes Bowser personally, but has continually complained about the city’s governance.

"They’re not doing the job," Trump said. "Too much crime, too much — too many tents on the lawns — these magnificent lawns."

In the order, Trump blamed the current conditions in the District on "failed policies," saying it "opened the door to disorder." 

White House Fact Sheet

Word-For-Word:

Here's exactly what the White House says in its March 27 fact sheet: 

MAKING WASHINGTON THE GREATEST CAPITAL CITY IN THE WORLD: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to make Washington, D.C. what it should be—the pride of every American to whom it belongs.  

• The Executive Order establishes a task force, officially known as the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, that will be comprised of members of key government agencies.
• The task force is directed to:Surge law enforcement officers in public areas and strictly enforce quality-of-life laws in public areas like drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism, and public intoxication.Maximize immigration enforcement to apprehend and deport dangerous illegal aliens, including monitoring D.C.’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.Help D.C.’s forensic crime laboratory get accreditation.Provide assistance to the D.C. Police Department in recruiting and retaining officers and boosting capabilities.Keep dangerous criminals off the streets by strengthening pre-trial detention policies.Expedite concealed carry licenses for law-abiding citizens.Crack down on fare evasion and other crimes on the D.C. Metro system.
• Surge law enforcement officers in public areas and strictly enforce quality-of-life laws in public areas like drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism, and public intoxication.
• Maximize immigration enforcement to apprehend and deport dangerous illegal aliens, including monitoring D.C.’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
• Help D.C.’s forensic crime laboratory get accreditation.
• Provide assistance to the D.C. Police Department in recruiting and retaining officers and boosting capabilities.
• Keep dangerous criminals off the streets by strengthening pre-trial detention policies.
• Expedite concealed carry licenses for law-abiding citizens.
• Crack down on fare evasion and other crimes on the D.C. Metro system.
• The Executive Order will also create a program to beautify Washington, D.C.:This includes restoring and beautifying Federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways, removing graffiti from commonly visited areas, and ensuring the cleanliness of public spaces and parks.The National Park Service will rapidly clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands.
• This includes restoring and beautifying Federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways, removing graffiti from commonly visited areas, and ensuring the cleanliness of public spaces and parks.
• The National Park Service will rapidly clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands.

AMERICANS DESERVE A BETTER CAPITAL THAN TODAY’S WASHINGTON: Our nation’s capital, the only city that belongs to all of us, must be a symbol of pride for the American people and a safe location for public servants to do the people’s work. Today, because of failed policies, it’s not.

• Crime is near historic highs, yet D.C. police force numbers recently reached a half-century low.The left is touting modest decreases in D.C. crime in 2024, but they still represent a massive increase from earlier rates. In 2023, violent crime rose by 39 percent. Property crime rose by 24 percent.This mirrors the spin they tried to put on "decreases" in the rate of inflation in recent years. Inflation is still up—and so is crime. And Americans are smart enough to notice.For example, 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in the District since 1997.The D.C. Metro Police Department needs at least 4,000 officers, yet has fewer than 3,500.
• The left is touting modest decreases in D.C. crime in 2024, but they still represent a massive increase from earlier rates. In 2023, violent crime rose by 39 percent. Property crime rose by 24 percent.
• This mirrors the spin they tried to put on "decreases" in the rate of inflation in recent years. Inflation is still up—and so is crime. And Americans are smart enough to notice.
• For example, 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in the District since 1997.
• The D.C. Metro Police Department needs at least 4,000 officers, yet has fewer than 3,500.
• D.C.’s failed policies opened the door to disorder—and criminals noticed. Washington, DC:Abandoned traditional pre-trial detention and effectively replaced it with ‘catch-and-release.’Decriminalized marijuana.Lets rioters run loose even if they vandalize property and assault police.
• Abandoned traditional pre-trial detention and effectively replaced it with ‘catch-and-release.’
• Decriminalized marijuana.
• Lets rioters run loose even if they vandalize property and assault police.
• In 2022, the Biden U.S. Attorney for D.C. declined to prosecute 67% of arrested people who would have been tried in D.C. Superior Court.
• The vacuum in law enforcement has created an environment that facilitates crime and blight, encourages homeless and vagrancy encampments, and jeopardizes public safety.
• The D.C. crime lab remains partially unaccredited, creating a bottleneck for investigations. Federal authorities will assist with capacity so forensic work can resume and accreditation can be regained.

PRESIDENT TRUMP KEEPS HIS PROMISES: President Trump is following through on his promise to restore Washington, D.C. to glory by making the nation’s capital safe and beautiful once again.

• On President Trump’s first return to Washington since leaving office in 2021, he lamented "the filth and the decay" that marred the nation’s capital in his absence.
• President Trump later promised that his Administration would "take over the horribly run capital of our nation, Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it, and rebuild our capital city so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime, but rather it will become the most beautiful capital anywhere in the world."

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