DC next.

So, it turns out that focusing on the sky-high cost of housing is a winning issue. (and you know, having a candidate who is brilliant, understands messaging, and is not a 7,000-year-old white dude)

This is DC. This is not normal. Authoritarians want us to get used to even more uniformed folks with even more guns. They want us to look away. Don't. This. Is. Not. Normal.

These aren’t #Halloween costumes. This is the military takeover of DC, as seen on today’s morning walk. Tonight, millions of Americans will get kicked off vital food assistance. More ppl than ever sleep outside in modern history. 60% of ppl struggle to make ends meet.

This is a five-alarm fire. Utah is working on a 1,200-bed, remote detention camp for people who can't afford rent. This includes hundreds of locked beds, forced medication, & the potential for forced labor.

This morning, my spouse spotted 7 National Guard members picking up trash in DC's Malcolm X Park. This "deployment" costs taxpayers $1.1 million / day. Why is there money for this but not for food, housing, or care?

.@realDonaldTrump is spending $300 million to tear down the East Wing and build a ballroom for his billionaire buds. $300 million could get at least 7500 homeless folks off the streets and into housing with support for 1 year. But let them eat cake, right?

There used to be benches at Union Station, but they removed them because homeless people had the audacity to sit on them. And now, nobody can sit unless they pay. Anti-homeless policies hurt us all. Why can the gov't find $$ to deploy the military to US cities but not to help people in need?

Virginia, vote for my bud @jonesjay.bsky.social We grew up together, and he is a true mensch. Vote for @abigailspanberger.com, too!

In advance of #NoKingsDayOct18th, I beg you: don't leave out Trump's attacks on homeless ppl as part of his authoritarian takeover. Trump openly talks about rounding up homeless folks and forcing them into detention camps. This threat is now backed up by policies and budgets.

Today marks 2 years at @homelesslaw.bsky.social. 1 kid, 1 bill introd to Congress, & more interviews & coalition meetings than I can count. I'm so privileged to be surrounded by the most brilliant and dedicated folks in the world.

Burning a judge's house whom Trump does not like is political violence. ICE rappelling from helicopters to handcuff naked kids is political violence. Homelessness is political violence. Don't get it twisted.

ICYMI: Yesterday, ICE raided a homeless shelter in Chicago, and DC Police arrested a homeless veteran and destroyed his belongings. Pay attention to attacks on homeless folks. They will spread to everybody that the admin does not like. This is fascism, full stop.

There is imminent (bad) news about homelessness from the Trump administration. Let's get a few things clear: 1) Homelessness is a housing problem. When rents go up, so does homelessness. 2) This move will force ~200,000 more ppl into homelessness

This is not normal. Seen en route to the farmers' market in DC. The cost to the taxpayers? $200 million. Why can they always find money for guns and bombs and soldiers but not for housing and healthcare and food?

This is still the reality in DC. Deploying the National Guard to stand around and pick up trash will cost $200 million. Why can they always find money for guns and wars but not housing and healthcare and food?

Shanah tovah. May this year be more just, more sweet, and more peaceful than last. And may we all actively engage in the work of building this world together.

"Gov't inaction & failure to solve homelessness is violence. A system that can find money to send the National Guard to take over D.C., but refuses to fund housing, is violent. Gutting healthcare is violent. Kidnapping migrants is violent. Poverty wages are violent."

One famous TV person went on air and said we should kill homeless people. Another reported the news. Can you guess which one got fired?

Telling millions of ppl on TV to kill homeless folks is political violence. I bet it won't be breaking news. I bet folks won't care b/c it's directed at mostly Black & brown folks, not a white supremacist. If all life is sacred, it means all life is sacred. Not just the life you agree with.

If you live outside of DC, please take action now!

What a holy weekend. It started w/ shabbat services with 100+ friends, followed by a march with 15k ppl demanding a free DC. I spoke about Trump's attack on homeless folks in DC and how Trump's targeting of homeless folks is textbook authoritarianism Full text in comments.

SHOW UP TOMORROW (Saturday) to march and rally for a #freedc. I'll be speaking at Freedom Plaza. More info at bit.ly/we-are-all-dc

Next: Trump to rename Dept of Housing and Urban Development to "Department of we are going to stop your rental assistance, force you into homelessness, and then arrest you for sleeping outside" as it more accurately describes the agency's new mission.

For folks not in DC: - There are full-on police checkpoints most nights - Gangs of 30+ federal agents roam DC - National Guard folks w/ guns patrolling a Harris Teeter - Every day, multiple friends see ICE kidnapping ppl - Daycares are scared to have kids go on walks due to ICE

Another day, another high-ranking official in the Trump admin (this time JD Vance) spreading lies about folks experiencing homelessness. The solution to homelessness is housing and support, not handcuffs, blame, and military takeover.

I chatted w/ ‪@geedee215.bsky.social‬ on @npr.org's Code Switch abt the impact of Trump's hostile takeover of DC, how it is impacting people who live outside, & more I also dropped some Torah, which I thought they would edit out. But I'm glad they didn't Give it a listen npr.org/2025/08/20/n...

Non DC friends, What is one thing you are doing to resist the hostile takeover of DC? Drop it in the comments.

For the daily cost of deploying the DC Guard, $420,000, 9 folks could move from homelessness to housing. This doesn't include the costs of the 4 states sending guard units to occupy DC. We have the money to solve homelessness, but we don't have the political will.

FREE DC RALLY TODAY AT 3 PM. I'll be speaking. Show up. Spread the word.

You should care about homeless ppl b/c they are ppl, and most folks are closer to living outside than they are to being a billionaire. But if that's not enough, care about them b/c how gov't treats them says volumes abt us. Care b/c the cruelty won't stop with homeless folks.

Why can they find places to sleep for national guard troops coming from other states to occupy DC, but not for homeless ppl. In Jan 2020, they used hotels for the guard. Will they do the same this time? If so, why is there $ for the army to stay in hotels but not homeless ppl?

THERE ARE NO SHELTERS IN DC FOR PEOPLE TO GO TO. 900 ppl sleep outside each night. There are 40 open shelter beds. Ppl will be arrested for being unable to afford rent. Every reporter needs to ask Trump and his cronies where he wants people to go. Maybe his new ballroom?

I’m seeing a lot of “Trump is taking over DC to distract from his failed presidency/ Epstein files/ etc. Maybe. But I think he’s actually just a racist who also hates homeless people who has the power to further his authoritarian agenda. We must take away his power.

Trump announced he is going to "move out" "the homeless" from DC. This will be done by force As a former street outreach worker and homeless advocate in DC, and a national expert on laws that make it a crime to be homeless, I have some thoughts:

URGENT: DC to clear many homeless encampments tonight (Thur, Aug 7th). Please spread widely and share with media. My hunch is that this is @MayorBowser working with @realDonaldTrump , but I cannot confirm that yet.

🚨Trump is pushing states to forcibly institutionalize people for experiencing homelessness. “The safest communities are those with the most housing and resources, not those that make it a crime to be poor or sick," @jesserbnwtz.bsky.social buff.ly/SmtsxzC

"This order does nothing to lower the cost of housing or help people make ends meet. The safest communities are those with the most housing and resources, not those that make it a crime to be poor or sick." Full statement at homelesslaw.org/statement724...

MEDIA FOLKS THIS IS A BIG STORY

Major missing piece re requiring citizenship docs to receive vital government services like shelter and food: cities across the country throw away homeless ppl's IDs and vital paperwork all the time. How can you prove you are a citizen if the gov't throws away your proof?

Why did it take at least 8 cops to detain one man? Why didn't they let me give him the water he asked for, even though it's 90 degrees outside? Why is there always money for police but not housing or food?

"Let all who are hungry come and eat." - The Passover Hagaddah. It doesn't say "Let certain people who are hungry come eat." It says "all." Israel is [and has been] starving Gaza. You can still change your minds. You don't have to support this.

Parts of Houston just banned being homeless in public. Not camping, not sleeping, just existing. "It shall be unlawful for any person to sit or lie down on a sidewalk or on a blanket, stool, or any other object placed upon a sidewalk"

Punch up. This vote means you will see more ppl living outside, more crowded ERs, more ppl struggling to get by. Republicans just forced millions of ppl into poverty & homelessness. Their racism makes us all worse off. Blame politicians & billionares, not ppl struggling to get by.

Trump built a detention center in Florida in 8 days. Don't ever let them tell you the government can't build things quickly. If they wanted to, they could build housing to solve homelessness this quickly. But they don't want to. They just want more jails and camps.

They built a detention center in Florida in 8 days. Don't ever let them tell you the government can't build things quickly. If they wanted to, they could build housing to solve homelessness this quickly. But they don't want to. They just want more jails and camps.

It's not every day you get a bill introduced into Congress. Nobody should be jailed or fined because they can't afford the rent. Nobody. Thank you to @jayapal.house.gov & @maxwellfrost.bsky.social for introducing this vital bill. To take action & learn more, visit housingnothandcuffs.org/hnhact/

It turns out that running on a platform that addresses the out-of-control cost of housing is a winning idea. High housing costs are not only the biggest driver of homelessness, but they are also the biggest strain on most people's budgets. Pay attention, Dems.

HUD is leaving DC office to move to the Nat'l Science Foundation in NoVa. Turner wants to gut funding for housing to fund... his own dining room? Shame Use this money to end homelessness instead. HUD sec's demands, per @dangaristo.bsky.social, below. DOGE, we found your waste.

I first got politicized during the US invasion of Iraq. I was 13. I knew then what I know now: bombing people doesn't bring peace, it brings death. It's wild that we're having the same debates today.