One year after President Donald Trump set out to make Washington, D.C., safe again, his initiative has cleaned out 142 homeless encampments throughout the nation’s capital, according to internal data exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller.
The “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force” launched on March 28, 2025. Since then, more than 3,500 personnel — including 800 Federal Law Enforcement officers and 1,800 National Guard Troops — hit the streets of Washington to address crime, the Caller learned.
There are now no known encampments between National Park Service (NPS) units in the D.C. area parks, a White House official told the Caller. More than 350 individuals struggling with homelessness have been connected with mental health services since the start of the task force.
Over the last year, 11,205 arrests have been made as of March 26, data provided to the Caller shows. Approximately 62 known gang members, 1,956 narcotics subjects, 1,036 subjects of firearms offenses and 30 homicide subjects have been arrested since the task force was created.
Homeless encampments are seen near Washington Circle on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. As part of a larger crackdown by the Trump Administration, D.C. city officials have posted notices at multiple encampments around the nation’s capital warning of their plans to remove tents and relocate the homeless. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
City officials and law enforcement clear out a homeless encampment near the U.S. State Department on March 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The wait time for concealed carry permit appointments has also been shortened from four months to one day, a White House official shared with the Caller.
Since March 28, 2024, homicide has dropped 61%, motor vehicle theft decreased by 53% and robbery fell by 45%, according to the data shared with the Caller.
In August, Trump federalized the D.C. police and deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., to help with crime in the city. Hundreds of arrests were made following the move, and in one case, a member of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang was arrested in Washington, a White House official previously told the Daily Caller. The TdA member had several prior arrests and four previous immigration encounters, according to the official.
A woman sits with her dogs outside Union Station March 22, 2016 in Washington, DC. / AFP / Brendan Smialowski (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
A member of the National Guard stands outside Union Station on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
In addition to cracking down on crime, the task force is also focused on making Washington, D.C., beautiful. George Washington Parkway’s maintenance road crew, for example, has filled over 240 potholes and counting, a White House official told the Caller.
New bike racks have been installed at the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial and 148 benches have been repaired and replaced across the city, the official added. There is no known graffiti spanning the National Mall or Memorial Parks, and efforts to clean up graffiti in Union Station and Columbus Circle are ongoing.
The task force also reinstalled an Albert Pike monument after it was removed during a 2020 protest, the official shared with the Caller.
A homeless man breaks down his tent and gathers his belongings at an encampment August 14, 2025 in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, DC. D.C. city officials put notices at the camp that they would be breaking down the homeless encampment. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
DC city workers dismantle tents and remove personal belongings during a sweep of a homeless encampment in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood in Washington, DC, on August 14, 2025. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“For one year, President Trump’s Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force has been working in collaboration with federal and local partners to restore greatness to our nation’s capital,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rodgers told the Caller in a statement.
“The task force will continue its critical work to keep D.C. safe and beautiful,” she added.
The president has discussed doing similar work in other cities.
He has often floated Chicago, if the city would invite his efforts in, but the Trump administration has worked with Tennessee to clean up Memphis. In September, he deployed federal agencies like the FBI, ATF and DOJ to the city to focus on cracking down.
