Trump announces plan to 'beautify' DC by year's end

(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump addressed hundreds of federal and local law enforcement officers Thursday at the U.S. Park Police Anacostia facility, praising their crime-fighting efforts and announcing an plan to beautify Washington, D.C., by year's end.

Speaking to approximately 300 personnel from multiple agencies including the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, National Guard and D.C. Metropolitan Police, Trump said the law enforcement presence was working and credited personal anecdotes for the success.

"I've never received so many phone calls," Trump told the crowd, referring to friends who said they hadn't dined out in Washington for years due to crime concerns but were now venturing out. "We're not playing games. We're going to make it safe."

The president outlined a initiative to address infrastructure needs including replacing deteriorating street signs, targeting graffiti removal and "regrassing" city parks with new sprinkler systems.

"By the end of the year, it's going to be beautiful," Trump said. "We're going to have the best capital ever. It's gonna look better than it ever did."

Trump was accompanied by senior administration officials including chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The president said D.C. will be “maxed out in terms of beauty.”

The president also celebrated a legal victory Thursday, referring to a New York appeals court decision overturning his civil fraud judgment.

"I had a victory today. You know, they stole $550 million from me with a fake case, and it was overturned," Trump said. "It was a witch hunt, and I've had more witch hunts than any human being, I think in history."

Trump brought food for the assembled officers, including hamburgers prepared by White House staff and pizza from Wise Guy Pizza, telling the crowd he would "eat with you."

Trump previously said during a radio interview Thursday morning he would be "going out tonight" with police and military personnel.

“I’m going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police and with the military, of course. So we’re going to do a job,” Trump told conservative radio host Todd Starnes on his show. “The National Guard is great. They’ve done a fantastic job.”

The announcement comes as nearly 2,000 National Guard troops remain deployed in Washington following the president's executive order declaring a crime emergency despite statistics showing violent crime has declined in the city.

The D.C. National Guard, joined by units from West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee, has been supporting local and federal law enforcement efforts.

Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Miller met with National Guard troops at Union Station on Wednesday to thank them for their work. The officials were greeted with protests at the transportation hub, which Miller mocked.

Joint Task Force-DC currently has 1,997 soldiers and airmen mobilized, providing a visible presence at metro stations including Foggy Bottom, Smithsonian, Eastern Market and other locations throughout the district. The guardsmen are authorized to carry weapons depending on mission requirements and operate under civilian law enforcement authority.

White House officials said earlier Thursday that there had been more than 600 total arrests made since federal officers were deployed around the city on Aug. 7. Of those, 251 were arrests of immigrants in the country illegally, the White House said.

Critics of Trump’s aggressive crackdown across D.C. have pointed to statistics that show the city’s violent crime rate fell in 2024 and is down again in 2025. Also, some local residents have expressed their disapproval, protesting federal officers stationed in their neighborhoods.

A Washington Post-Schar School poll of 604 D.C. residents published Wednesday found 65% do not think Trump’s actions will make the city safer. Roughly 80% of residents said they opposed Trump’s executive order to federalize the city’s police department.

But White House officials have been adamant that statistics do not accurately capture the state of crime and decay in the nation’s capital. 

NewsNation partner The Hill contributed to this report.