Homelessness encampments in D.C. have largely disappeared a year after President Donald Trump pushed a crackdown. Homelessness is still, however, a major problem in the city.
If anything, the combination of Trump’s pressure to push unhoused people out of the capital and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s response have made struggles worse, according to local lawmakers and advocates for D.C.’s homeless population.
“Trump’s presence here has really exacerbated what’s already a challenging local issue,” said D.C. Council member Brianne Nadeau, who chaired the Committee on Human Services from 2017 to 2022.
“Under Trump two specifically, Mayor Bowser has tended to comply in advance, in which case, sometimes [proper] protocols are not followed,” Nadeau added, pointing to the clearing of a small encampment by Washington Circle in August of last year as an example.
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Effectively, this has translated to unhoused populations being pushed — little by little and with nowhere permanent to go — from one location to another.
Many homeless people are even less sure about their future in the changing city. In August 2025, Trump posted to Truth Social that “The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”
In the months since, the District has seen a significant decrease in encampments across the city. In July, the city’s Department of Health and Human Services closed twice as many encampments as it did during the same month last year, while homelessness increased by 4.4% from the previous year, according to the district’s Point-In-Time count.
The White House did not address the effect of the administrations’ actions, whether federal resources had been made available to the people displaced by encampment removals or advocates’ concerns in response to an inquiry from The Washington Sun.
“The crackdown on encampments is NOT linked to a rise in homelessness,” Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the White House, said in a statement.
The Bowser administration referred The Sun to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, which oversees housing issues.
In a statement, a city spokesperson said that federal intervention has not affected outreach efforts in the District, adding that encampment removal procedures have remained “consistent.”
“Whether a resident has been impacted by one, or numerous closures, does not alter our efforts to engage with them, establish a relationship, and make connections to shelter and services,” said a spokesperson for the deputy mayor’s office in a statement.
The Bowser administration, the statement continued, believes that “the safest place for people is in a shelter or permanent housing,” pointing to bridge housing facilities, which provide rooms and personalized case management to people experiencing homelessness, and other shelters.
But this crackdown, in addition to a lack of funding, has created a new set of issues for the city and its homeless population, according to some of the groups who try to serve it.
“People are less trusting, and they’re less willing to share their name, and they’re less willing to give any identifying information and to engage in services because they are scared,” said Andrew Wassenich, the director of the policy advocacy team at Miriam’s Kitchen.
These changes are visible outside of places like Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Northwest D.C., which has been a destination for people experiencing homelessness over the years.
One woman, a 53-year-old who requested anonymity out of privacy concerns, said she has slept outside the library since February. She said she makes $15,000 a year in disability benefits and has been waiting on two apartment applications that she hopes will get her off the street.
She likes the library. She appreciates that there is often security nearby, especially at night. And she hopes that she can stay there until she secures housing.
“It’s not just like we’re out here randomly,” the woman told The Sun.
“Some people are really trying to get housed,” the woman said. “The [library] is kind of safe because the programs are here. There’s counselors that come out, and they’re routinely out here.”
But in July of this year, the MLK library announced it would revamp a police presence outside the building and even set up a dividing rope to clear a sheltered area outside of the library.
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In a statement to The Sun, a spokesperson for D.C. Public Library argued that “conditions in that area have created a barrier to participation at the MLK Library,” explaining that the measures were put in place in response to community members’ concerns.
“Even with daily cleaning, the area under the loggia has become unwelcoming,” George Williams, D.C. Public Library’s media relations manager, said, in reference to the covered area where many homeless people used to congregate in.
Among advocates for ending homelessness, the frustration with the federal and local government is hard to hide.
“People are trapped in homelessness because elected officials — both at the D.C. level and at the federal level — are not prioritizing the needs of people experiencing homelessness,” Jesse Rabinowitz, campaigns and communications director at the National Homelessness Law Center, told The Sun.
“Magically, the government found hundreds of millions of dollars to deploy the National Guard, including to get folks into housing,” Rabinowitz said. “They can pay for housing when they want to.”
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