President Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Cashless Bail; Explainer on Cashless Bail Policies

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 25, 2025 - President Donald J. Trump today signed two executive orders aimed at ending cashless bail policies in Washington, D.C., and across the United States, threatening to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that refuse to reinstate traditional cash bond requirements.

In a White House ceremony this morning, the President emphasized that cashless bail “allows dangerous individuals to immediately return to the streets,” pledging to “restore accountability and protect public safety” by tying federal grants for law enforcement and community programs to compliance with reinstated cash bail rules.

Attorney General Pam Bondi presented the administration’s list of jurisdictions with no-cash-bail statutes, including Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico and parts of New York, and warned that failure to reverse these reforms will result in funding cuts. Under one order, all suspects arrested in Washington, D.C., must be held in federal custody “to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law,” effectively overriding the District’s current cashless bail framework.

Reaction among local officials was swift. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser decried the move as “an unconstitutional encroachment on home-rule authority,” while supporters of bail reform hailed cashless bail as a critical step toward reducing inequities in pretrial detention.

• What Is Cashless Bail? - Cashless bail, also known as “no-cash bail,” allows judges to release defendants before trial without requiring a monetary bond deposit. Instead of setting a financial amount as collateral, courts assess factors such as the alleged offense’s severity, the defendant’s risk of flight, and public safety considerations. In lieu of cash, defendants may be released on their own recognizance or under conditional supervision, which can include electronic monitoring, regular check-ins, or other non-financial safeguards.

Proponents argue that cashless bail prevents low-income individuals-who cannot afford traditional bail-from languishing in jail solely due to their financial status, thereby upholding the presumption of innocence and reducing jail overcrowding. Critics contend that eliminating money bonds reduces defendants’ incentive to appear for court dates and may lead to higher rates of reoffending prior to trial, citing instances of violent offenders released under no-cash-bail statutes committing new crimes.

The Biden administration and several Democratic-led states have championed cashless bail reforms since 2020, with Illinois becoming the first state to fully abolish money bail under its Pretrial Fairness Act. New Jersey and New Mexico followed, and New York eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies in 2019. Supporters highlight studies showing that reminders and supportive services can achieve comparable court-appearance rates without financial bonds. Opponents point to selective jurisdictional data indicating spikes in certain offenses after bail reform, though comprehensive research remains inconclusive.

Today’s executive actions mark a renewed federal-state showdown over pretrial justice, thrusting cashless bail back into the national debate over crime, equity, and judicial discretion. The administration has tasked the Department of Justice with identifying recipients of federal public-safety grants and ensuring funding flows only to jurisdictions that restore cash bond requirements for pretrial release.

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