D.C. homeless encampments being cleared following Trump’s threat

D.C. officials have cleared out a homeless encampment near the State Department after President Trump last week threatened that his administration would clean up the city’s encampments.

“We have notified the Mayor of Washington, D.C., that she must clean up all of the unsightly homeless encampments in the City, specifically including the ones outside of the State Department, and near the White House. If she is not capable of doing so, we will be forced to do it for her! Washington, D.C. must become CLEAN and SAFE! We want to be proud of our Great Capital again. Thank you Mayor Bowser for your efforts on behalf of the Citizens of our Country. Hopefully you will be successful,” Mr. Trump posted Wednesday on Truth Social. 

On Friday, an encampment near the Virginia Avenue exit of the E Street Expressway NW near the State Department was cleared out and cleaned up, according to an encampments-focused page on the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services website.

The encampment prompted a phone call between the White House and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office, according to WRC-TV. 

“I said, ’Thanks for the notice, we’ll take care of it.’ … We responded to the location identified,” Ms. Bowser said at a news conference Thursday.

Encampments at 1899 Ninth St. NE, 901 26th St. NW, 27th and K streets NW and a tunnel exit at Second and D streets NW are scheduled to be cleared out next week. 

The week after, encampments at 3100 Mt. Pleasant St. NW, 1425 New York Ave. NE, and North Capitol Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW are scheduled for clearance, with encampments at Virginia Avenue and Rock Creek Parkway, 2000 14th St. NW, and the L Street underpass in Northeast slated for removal the week after that.

An encampment at a tunnel exit at First and C streets NW is set to be cleared April 1.

“The safest place for people is in a shelter or permanent housing. D.C.’s case management teams continue to engage individuals and families experiencing homelessness and work to match them to housing resources and wrap-around services such as behavioral health services and case management,” the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services told WTTG-TV.