Dr. Robert Marbut appeared on NewsNation with host Chris Cuomo to discuss President Trump’s “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” Executive Order. Dr. Marbut explains how this Order will serve the street-level homeless community, how harm reduction and Housing First failed, and the importance of focusing on treatment and recovery. [Robert Marbut’s segment begins at 23:20.]
“Today marks the beginning of the end of Housing First as the federal government’s one-size-fits-all—and failed—approach to homelessness.” Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” marking a pivotal shift in federal homelessness policy. Following a decade of failure under our nation’s one-size-fits-all approach to homelessness—Housing First—the president’s move is a long-overdue course-correction rooted in hope, healing, and human dignity. To understand its gravity, we must first confront the promise—and profound failure—of the policy he will begin replacing. In 2013, President Barack Obama pledged to end homelessness within 10 years by embracing Housing First, a model that promised stability through life-long, subsidized housing, with no requirement to address underlying challenges like Read More ›
Trump’s executive order will severely cripple America’s homeless industrial complex. But these grifters will not go out without a fight. Lawsuits and protests are already planned. Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Dr. Robert Marbut Jr. and I break down what happens next.
Happening Now As expected, Seattle’s homeless industrial complex is devastated after Trump’s executive order defunding Housing First and “harm reduction.” The multi-billion dollar gravy train is coming to an end. They’re blasting out fear mongering emails to donors and supporters. Page 1 Problem for them, their policies and plans have led to record homelessness and drug overdose deaths on the streets. Page 2 The progressive politicians and non-profits that enabled crime, chaos, and death in permanent supportive housing do not want to be held accountable. So they’re blaming Trump. Page 3 More than a decade ago when Housing First started, there was no independent media to push back on the lies. But now a reckoning is coming through places like Read More ›
Standing on an Oakland street flanked by legislative allies, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made a sweeping promise in 2021: California would eliminate family homelessness within five years. Backed by an unprecedented $75 billion budget surplus and $27 billion in federal stimulus, his administration committed $12 billion to the crisis, including $3.5 billion for housing units and rental subsidies. His strategy? Double down on Housing First—a one-size-fits-all policy California adopted in 2016 after the federal government’s 2013 embrace of it. Housing First promises permanent, taxpayer-funded housing with no expectations—no sobriety, no treatment, no work, ever. Somehow, the governor missed the glaring reality that under Housing First, homelessness in California exploded by 34%, and unsheltered homelessness by 47% between 2017-2021. Fast forward Read More ›
Out of Sight, Out of Mind The Trump administration is in the process of defunding “permanent supportive housing” for homeless drug addicts across the nation. That’s because data shows these “low barrier” tax funded facilities just warehouse individuals and invite more crime into neighborhoods. In some instances, case workers irresponsibly place addicts on the same floor with drug dealers. Listen to this former Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) resident describe what’s really happening inside.
What Does Harrell Plan To Do? Nearly four years ago, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell campaigned on the promise of making a serious dent in the city’s homeless drug crisis. But under his watch, there are more people living on the streets, the fentanyl epidemic remains out of control, and many encampments that were cleared are now repopulating. So this evening, I asked him what he plans to do about this ongoing issue that could become a political liability for his re-election campaign. Using the Wrong Measuring Stick Mayor Harrell is touting these accomplishments on his campaign website. But critics say citing a decrease in RV’s and tent encampments as a metric for success is the wrong barometer. Homelessness on the Read More ›
Social Services Row Crime, chaos, and death sums up what’s happening in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. The cross streets near social service providers like Plymouth Housing and REACH continue to be the root of all drug-related problems. They are both notorious pushers of the failed “harm reduction” and Housing First policies that have led to even higher rates of homelessness and drug overdose deaths in the region. Making matters worse, the Stay Out of Drug Areas (SODA) ordinance has been a total flop since it’s barely being enforced.
Political Theater WA Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal just introduced a bill that allows homeless people to camp on federal land if they have no other options. This was simply political theater and won’t go anywhere. Here’s the real problem for Jayapal. Washington’s Homelessness Crisis Despite billions of dollars spent over the years, Washington state has the third largest homeless population in America with more than 31K people living on the streets. That’s likely an undercount. This is all happening under Jayapal’s watch. Jayapal’s Ideology Part of the problem is her far-left progressive ideology. Here’s what she recently told the Seattle Times: “Because I don’t think that homelessness is a failure of the individual,” she said. “I think it’s a failure of Read More ›
The City Turns a Blind Eye Seattle’s latest out-of-control drug encampment is the former Joann Fabrics site in Ballard. Business owners and neighbors say Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Dan Strauss have totally ignored this problem since this is happening on private property. But dozens of drug addicts have trashed the area and all the crime and chaos from this location keeps spilling into the side streets. Meanwhile, one guy living in a tent told me he’s rejecting free housing because the provider requires all dogs to be neutered. Make it make sense.