2026-09-11 · housing
Inside the internal turmoil between D.C. agencies, local police, and the National Security Council to clear homeless encampments
Street Sense published emails obtained by public-records request showing a White House "Homelessness Working Group" — including the National Security Council, HUD, HHS, the National Park Service, and D.C. agencies — formed in May 2025 under the Safe and Beautiful Task Force executive order, and that police officers under federal control compiled a 25-site encampment list near the White House on August 14, 2025, at least 14 of which were cleared the next day. The National Park Service said August 28 that it has cleared 169 encampments on federal land since the task force was announced, and D.C.'s monthly clearing average has risen to about 17 this year from eight to nine in 2024–2025.
The White House said on August 19, 2025 that 48 encampments had been cleared during the takeover, a figure the article says Street Sense has not been able to independently confirm.