California Homelessness Issue Prompts Threat of Federal Intervention

The nation’s homelessness problem has to a disturbing degree become California’s homelessness problem. While the latest counts compiled by the federal government show that America’s homeless population is growing again after more than a decade of declines, the entire national increase and more can be attributed to California alone.

With a majority of states experiencing decreases in homelessness over the past year and only one small state, New Mexico, suffering a larger proportionate increase, California’s dire statistics underscore the extent to which state and local policies drive an extraordinary and...

President Trump spent part of the Christmas holiday attacking California Democrats over the homelessness crisis in their state, adding another volley of tweets to his long-running criticism of one of the state’s most pressing issues.

Trump has directed his administration to examine ways to crack down on the homeless populations in several major cities but has reserved particular frustration for California, whose governor, Gavin Newsom (D), has positioned the state as a liberal counterbalance to the Trump administration’s policies. Trump frequently portrays the homelessness in the state as emblematic of...