Fear and confusion are spreading within Washington, DC’s homeless population at the start of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on encampments.

Democrats in Congress denounced the 30-day mobilization inside the capital, which Trump previewed during the 2024 election, as an “unjustified power grab” and vowed to block an extension. The city’s elected attorney general called it an “unlawful” abuse of emergency powers to lower crime rates that the administration itself said had fallen.

President Donald Trump has taken over Washington D.C.’s police force and deployed the National Guard in the capital.The president took over the city’s police department for 30 days, and says he wants Congress to grant him “long-term” control of the force.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would ask Congress for an extension of the federalization of D.C.'s police. The move is unlikely to pass as it would require Democratic support. Trump's comments come after National Guard troops began deploying in Washington,