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

The clearing of homeless encampments in the nation's capital is unfolding under what President Donald Trump calls his Making D

Using bulldozers and garbage trucks, authorities began tearing down homeless encampments as Trump's crackdown on the nation's capital ramped up.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has named the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration to be Washington’s “emergency police commissioner” as she carries out President Donald Trump’s unprecedented decision to take over the Washington police department.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive late on Thursday naming Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole as the "emergency police commissioner" of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department.

President Donald Trump announced earlier this week the decision to federalize Washington, D.C., as he cited crime and violence.

Authorities also said there will be a "significantly higher national guard presence on the ground" starting Wednesday night.

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 directly controls DC's police and National Guard because of the federal enclave's unique status, experts say.