❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order ending cashless bail in Washington, D.C., with a second order targeting a nationwide ban.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The executive order was signed on Monday, impacting Washington, D.C., and potentially nationwide jurisdictions.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Every place in the country where you have no-cash bail is a disaster.” – President Trump
🎯IMPACT: The initiative seeks to curb reoffending and address rising crime rates linked to cashless bail policies.
President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order on Monday eliminating cashless bail for criminal suspects in Washington, D.C. Additionally, the America First leader enacted a second Executive Order that aims to institute a nationwide ban on cashless bail by threatening to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that continue the practice.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized no-cash bail policies, calling them a “disaster” and attributing their implementation to “bad politicians” and “bad leadership.” He specifically pointed to cities like New York and Chicago as examples of the policy’s failure. Speaking earlier this month, Trump stated, “Somebody murders somebody and they’re out on no-cash bail before the day is out.”
Critics of cashless bail, such as New York City Mayor Eric Adams, argue that the policy has increased reoffending rates. Adams has blamed reforms initiated under former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) for creating a cycle of offenders being repeatedly arrested and released. Data from the Data Collaborative for Justice supports concerns about increased recidivism among individuals charged with nonviolent felonies and those with a history of violent offenses.
Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), responding to Trump’s recent suggestion of deploying the National Guard to Chicago to restore order, dismissed the proposal as “uncoordinated, uncalled-for, and unsound.” Trump has labeled Johnson “grossly incompetent.”
Earlier this month, President Trump moved to federalize the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and deploy National Guard troops and federal agents in the capital as part of a major crackdown on crime in the city. Despite Democrat claims that D.C.’s crime rates were falling, the MPD is facing a federal investigation and a workplace retaliation lawsuit alleging that city law enforcement officials manipulated crime data to make the city appear safer than it is.
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