By Jorge Casuso

July 25, 2025 -- President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that will have financial and practical impacts on Santa Monica's ongoing efforts to tackle homelessness.

The order, titled "Ending Crime and Disorder on American Streets," makes it easier for States and cities to remove homeless individuals from public spaces, especially those who need treatment for drug addiction and mental illness.

That population accounts for a large local homeless sector in a city that has been plagued by violent random acts, many of them committed by the mentally disturbed and drug addicted.

Of the 2,802 total arrests made by police last year, 1,694, or 60 percent, were of homeless individuals, and many of the aggravated assaults involved knives ("Serious Crime Saw Slight Decrease Last Year," June 13, 2025).

"Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order," the executive order reads.

"Surrendering our cities and citizens to disorder and fear is neither compassionate to the homeless nor other citizens."

The order prioritizes grants to States and municipalities that enforce prohibitions on "open illicit drug use," "urban camping and loitering" and "urban squatting."

It also stipulates that grants for substance-use treatment and recovery programs "do not fund drug injection sites or illicit drug use," a hot-button issue in Santa Monica where the County runs a clean needle distribution program.

Santa Monica officials are evaluating the implications the order will have on the city, which saw an increase in its homeless population based on the results of the annual homeless count released Wednesday ("Santa Monica Sees Increase in Homeless Count," July 24, 2025).

The city has been enacting a policy that prioritizes housing and links it to on-site services for those suffering mental or substance abuse problems.

Trump's executive order would "address individuals who are a danger to themselves or others and suffer from serious mental illness or substance use disorder, or who are living on the streets and cannot care for themselves."

It would do so "through assisted outpatient treatment or by moving them into treatment centers or other appropriate facilities via civil commitment or other available means."

Former Mayor Phil Brock, who chairs the LA County District Attorney's Homelessness Advisory Board, called the order "a very promising step" as long as it "is done in a compassionate way."

"What I don't want to see is them just locking people up and throwing away the keys," said Brock, who noted he was not speaking for the board.

Brock said the Federal Government will need to provide not only the direction but the money needed to fund the treatment centers.

"The problem is we haven't been able to get people off the streets and care for them," Brock said. "You have to provide a methodology to help get them off the streets and get the help they need."

The President's order comes one day after the results of the County's point-in-time count showed an increase in Santa Monica's homeless population -- from 774 homeless individuals counted in 2024 to 812 counted in February of this year.

The 5 percent increase came amid a 4 percent drop in the number of individuals counted countywide and a 5 percent drop on the Westside ("Santa Monica Sees Increase in Homeless Count," July 24, 2025).

The last two counts have been conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and have shown a decrease in LA County's homeless population -- from 75,312 in 2024 to 72,308 this year.

Trump's Executive Order notes that "the number of individuals living on the streets in the United States on a single night during the last year of the previous administration -- 274,224 -- was the highest ever recorded."

According to the order, "the overwhelming majority of these individuals are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both."

"The Federal Government and the States have spent tens of billions of dollars on failed programs that address homelessness but not its root causes, leaving other citizens vulnerable to public safety threats," the order states.

In April, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who Trump appointed to head the district that includes LA County, formed a criminal task force to investigate potential "fraud, waste, abuse and corruption" involving funding for homeless programs in Southern California.

The task force was announced one month after a court-ordered audit found that $2.3 billion in homeless funding sent to LA County between June 2020 and June 2024 could not be fully accounted for ("New Federal Task Force to Probe Homeless Funding," April 11, 2025).

Thursday's order increases "accountability" for homelessness assistance and transitional living programs that receive federal money.

"These actions shall include, to the extent permitted by law, ending support for 'housing first' policies that deprioritize accountability and fail to promote treatment, recovery, and self-sufficiency."

The order also calls for increasing competition for grants and "holding grantees to higher standards of effectiveness in reducing homelessness and increasing public safety."

To read the executive order click here