Donald Trump’s latest executive order targets cashless bail nationwide, threatening to cut federal funding from districts that maintain such policies.
On Aug. 25, Trump signed an executive order to withhold federal grant funding from jurisdictions with cashless bail policies, The New York Times reports. The order also directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide Trump, within 30 days, a list of states and localities that have “substantially eliminated cash bail,” putting those that fail to do so at risk of losing federal funding.
Trump has long opposed cashless bail, a system that allows defendants facing lesser charges to avoid posting bail. He and other conservative lawmakers argue it endangers public safety by putting more accused offenders back on the streets. However, studies
show these policies have not led to higher crime rates.“Somebody kills somebody, they go and don’t worry about it,” Trump told reporters while signing the order. “No cash. Come back in a couple of months. We’ll give you a trial. You never see the person again.”
The order also calls to move applicable criminal defendants in Washington, D.C., to federal custody to ensure they’ll be held in federal prison pretrial.
“Our great law enforcement officers risk their lives to arrest potentially violent criminals, only to be forced to arrest the same individuals, sometimes for the same crimes, while they await trial on the previous charges,” the executive order reads. “This is a waste of public resources and a threat to public safety.”
The move comes as Trump deploys the military across Washington, D.C., in what he calls a crackdown on crime, while threatening to extend the strategy to Illinois, New York, and Maryland next.
“That was when the big crime in this country started,” Trump said on Monday. “They kill people, and they get out – cashless bail,” he added. “They thought it was discriminatory to make people put up money because they just killed three people lying on a street.”
Supporters of cashless bail argue the traditional system is unfair, allowing wealthy defendants to buy their pretrial freedom while poorer individuals remain jailed as their cases proceed. They argue courts should base release decisions on whether someone poses a threat to the community, not on their ability to pay.
New Mexico essentially ended cash bail in 2016, followed by New Jersey in 2017 and Alaska in 2018. New York’s bail reform took effect in early 2020, and Illinois implemented its law in 2023. In place of cash bail, the new systems rely on less restrictive measures to ensure defendants return to court, including supervised release, electronic monitoring, and connections to pretrial services.
Trump himself has directly benefited from bail reforms. Following his 2023 arraignment in New York on charges of falsifying business records, he was released on his own
recognizance without having to pay cash bail. He received the same treatment in his two federal criminal cases, one in Washington, D.C., and the other in Florida. However, in Fulton County, Georgia, where he faced charges tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, he was required to post a $200,000 bond, paying 10% out of pocket and relying on a bail bonds company for the remainder.RELATED CONTENT: Elevating Your Excellence: Damola Adamolekun: The Nigerian King Of Red Lobster