Trump Signs Executive Orders to End Cashless Bail, Crack Down on Crime

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News) – President Donald Trump on Monday signed a series of executive orders aimed at ending cashless bail policies across the United States, escalating his administration’s push to crack down on crime and restore order in American cities.

“Cashless bail is when the big crime in this country started,” Trump said before signing the order in the Oval Office. “When someone kills another person, and they’re released with no bail, they’re just told to return to court—but they don’t. We’ve got to bring our country back.”

The executive order directs the attorney general to identify jurisdictions using cashless bail systems and withhold federal funding from them. Trump argued the policy is not partisan. “This isn’t Republican or Democrat. By the way, most Democrats agree with this,” he said.

Another order signed Monday directs federal authorities to hold as many criminal suspects as possible in federal custody to prevent their release under Washington, D.C.’s cashless bail policy. Trump also signed a separate measure imposing a one-year prison sentence on anyone convicted of burning an American flag to incite a riot.

The president pointed to Washington, D.C., as proof that his law-and-order agenda works. He claimed that in the 11 days since his plan to “make D.C. safer” took effect, the city has seen zero murders, more than a thousand arrests, hundreds of illegal firearms seized, and “scores of illegal aliens” apprehended.

Trump has long criticized cashless bail policies in states like New York and Illinois, arguing that they enable repeat offenders to cycle through the system unchecked. “Every place in the country where you have no-cash bail is a disaster,” Trump said, singling out New York and Chicago.

Progressive advocates have promoted no-cash bail as a fairer approach to criminal justice, but critics argue it leads to higher crime rates. A February 2024 study by the Data Collaborative for Justice found that eliminating money bail increased recidivism for certain offenders, including those with violent felony arrests, while decreasing recidivism among some low-level offenders.

New York City’s bail reform law, signed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019, remains a flashpoint. Current Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, has blasted the law as a driver of repeat offenses. Adams, who faces Cuomo in November’s mayoral election, has clashed with Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani, who advocates abolishing prisons and all forms of cash bail.

Meanwhile, Trump hinted at further interventions in crime-plagued cities. On Friday, he floated sending the National Guard to Chicago, calling the city “a mess.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson rejected the idea as “uncalled-for and unsound,” pointing instead to recent reductions in homicides, robberies, and shootings. Trump, however, dismissed Johnson as “grossly incompetent.”

The new executive orders represent the latest step in Trump’s broader plan to combat crime and homelessness in the nation’s capital and beyond—an issue he has increasingly made central to his 2024 campaign platform.

Reporting contributed by Worthy News staff and wire services.

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