President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” a new initiative aimed at addressing crime, enforcing immigration laws, and beautifying the nation’s capital.
The task force, which will be comprised of members from key government agencies, has been directed to implement a range of measures focused on law enforcement, illegal immigration, and improving the appearance of federal spaces in Washington.
“The Executive Order establishes a task force, officially known as the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, that will be comprised of members of key government agencies,” according to a White House fact sheet released with the order.
On the law enforcement front, the task force will surge police officers in public areas and “strictly enforce quality-of-life laws” targeting drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism, and public intoxication. The initiative also aims to strengthen pre-trial detention policies and tackle fare evasion on the city’s transportation system.
The same day as Trump’s announcement, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) revealed its own plans to ban repeat offenders from buses and trains. Metro officials noted that while overall crime in the system is at a seven-year low, they have adopted a “banning policy” targeting repeat offenders of sex crimes and assaults against customers and employees.
A significant focus of the task force will be immigration enforcement. The order directs the group to “maximize immigration enforcement to apprehend and deport dangerous illegal aliens, including monitoring D.C.’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities,” the White House document states.
The task force will also address operational issues within the D.C. justice system. It aims to help the D.C. forensic crime laboratory regain accreditation, which the White House describes as “partially unaccredited, creating a bottleneck for investigations.”
Additionally, the order directs assistance to the Metropolitan Police Department with recruitment and retention. According to the White House, the department currently has fewer than 3,500 officers but needs a minimum of 4,000.
The beautification component of the order creates a program to restore federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways. It also directs the National Park Service to “rapidly clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands.”
This executive order follows previous statements by Trump regarding Washington D.C. In February, the president told reporters he supported a “federal takeover” of the District, complaining about crime and homelessness.
“I think we should take over Washington, D.C.,” Trump said at the time. “I think that we should govern District of Columbia.”
Under the city’s Home Rule authority, Congress already has oversight of D.C. laws and can overturn them, but some congressional Republicans have advocated for further reducing the city’s limited autonomy.
The White House fact sheet accompanying the order cites crime statistics as justification for the initiative, claiming violent crime rose by 39 percent and property crime by 24 percent in 2023. It also states that 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in the District since 1997.
Trump has previously threatened D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser regarding homeless encampments, saying “she must clean up all the unsightly homeless encampments in the city,” or the federal government would intervene.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the city’s governance, stating, “They’re not doing the job. Too much crime, too much — too many tents on the lawns — these magnificent lawns.”