Scoop: Trump plans order to end "cashless bail" in D.C.
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President Trump plans to sign an executive order on Monday that aims to eliminate "cashless bail" for arrested suspects in Washington, D.C., Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It's the latest step in the Trump-driven federal takeover of the capital city's law enforcement, which has put thousands of federal agents and National Guard troops on the city's streets.
Zoom in: Under cashless bail, a suspect doesn't need to pay money to be released from custody before trial.
- Trump previewed his support for ending cashless bail in D.C. earlier this month. When he announced his decision to federalize the D.C. police force, he called the policy a "disaster."
- Analysts say such claims aren't supported by crime statistics, which show an exceedingly small percentage of defendants are arrested for violent crimes while awaiting trial.
State of play: A White House official said the executive order could threaten to withhold federal funding or government-backed project approvals from D.C. if it doesn't end its cashless-bail policy.
- The executive order will ask law enforcement to "work to ensure" that arrestees are taken into federal rather than local custody, the White House aide said.
Trump administration officials argue that federal judges are more likely than D.C. judges to detain crime suspects before trial.
- Under the current arrangement, those detained by federal law enforcement officials in D.C. are in federal custody. Those arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department are in local custody.
Zoom out: D.C. largely eliminated cash bail in the 1990s — making it one of the first jurisdictions to do so. Under the city's policy, a judge assesses whether a defendant should be released from prison based on their risk of not showing up for trial.
- Illinois also has eliminated cash bail. Some other states, including New York, California and New Jersey, have scaled it back.
Supporters of cash bail say it financially incentivizes defendants to show up to trial, and that allowing them on the streets poses a threat to residents.
- Critics of cash bail say it unfairly impacts low-income people who can't afford to post bond. They also point to studies showing little correlation between cashless bail and an uptick in crime.
Catch up quick: The issue of cash bail emerged as a flashpoint in the 2024 presidential race, when Trump promised a tough-on-crime approach and vowed to target cashless bail — a practice long loathed by conservatives and embraced by liberals.
- "When I'm re-elected, I will crack down on the left-wing jurisdictions that refuse to prosecute dangerous criminals and set loose violent felons on cashless bail," Trump said.
- "If you kill somebody, there's no bond. Don't worry about it. Go ahead. Kill somebody else. These people are crazy, I'll tell you," Trump added.
- Democrat Kamala Harris supported cashless bail. "Vice President Harris believes our criminal justice system should protect and serve all Americans, regardless of their economic status, gender, or race," a Harris spokesperson said at the time.
A spokesperson for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment.
What's next: Trump wants Congress to ban cashless bail nationwide, and has criticized policies in Chicago and New York. Critics say Congress has no authority to decide how states handle bail, but that lawmakers could tie it to federal funding.
