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Trump takes steps to penalize 'no cash bail' cities, states [1]

['Published Pm Et Aug.']

Date: 2025-08-25

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took steps to potentially withhold federal funds from cities and states that have what he refers to as “cashless bail” policies, as he floats expanding his crackdown on crime in Washington to other areas beyond the nation’s capital.

What You Need To Know President Donald Trump took steps to potentially withhold federal funds from cities and states that have what he refers to as “cashless bail” policies as he floats expanding his crackdown on crime in Washington to other areas beyond the nation’s capital The executive order signed in the Oval Office on Monday morning directs his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to identify jurisdictions throughout the country that have, in the administration’s perspective, “substantially” ended cash bail as an option for pretrial release





The director of the Office of Management and Budget is then directed to work with departments to identify grants, contracts or funding in other forms that can be withheld from the jurisdiction as a result It comes as Trump has been talking about taking his D.C. crime crackdown to other U.S. cities, saying Chicago is next, followed by New York The president also signed an order directing the attorney general to investigate instances of people burning the American flag and pursue charges if there is evidence of criminal activity that is not protected by the First Amendment, as was established by the Supreme Court

The executive order signed in the Oval Office on Monday morning directs his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to identify jurisdictions throughout the country that have, in the administration’s perspective, “substantially” ended cash bail as an option for pretrial release. The director of the Office of Management and Budget is then directed to work with departments to identify grants, contracts or funding in other forms that can be withheld from the jurisdiction as a result.

Bondi is required to submit the list within 30 days.

Several states, such as Illinois, New York, California and New Jersey, have moved away from relying on cash bail as a condition for pretrial release.

Illinois — which was referred to by a White House official during the signing as a “great example” of a state the order will impact — became the first state in the U.S. to eliminate its policy of requiring defendants to pay money to leave jail while awaiting trial when it passed a provision in its SAFE-T Act in 2021.

The new policy then took effect in September 2023, with proponents arguing it stops those accused of lower-level crimes who cannot afford bail from being kept in jail while wealthier defendants are let out. Those arrested for more serious crimes could still remain behind bars, proponents say.

Trump has made clear in recent days that the state’s biggest city, Chicago, is next on his list to implement a D.C.-style crime crackdown. He referred to it as a “killing field" on Monday as he slammed the leadership of the state’s Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker.

Pritzker pushed back on Trump setting his sights on Chicago over the weekend, writing on X that the president is “attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he's causing families.” Other local leaders are criticizing the potential move as well.

Meanwhile in New York, which Trump has also mentioned is on his takeover list after Chicago, state lawmakers passed legislation in 2019 ending cash bail specifically for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, but parts of the reform have been rolled back in the years since.

Trump, joined by several of his department heads, including Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as well as Vice President JD Vance, signed the order during what he framed as a meeting to discuss the administration’s clampdown on crime in the nation’s capital two weeks after he announced he was deploying National Guard troops to its streets and exerting federal control over the city’s police force.

While Trump deployed National Guard troops to a U.S. city against a governor’s wishes when he sent them into Los Angeles amid protests over his administration's immigration enforcement actions, Washington is a unique situation in that it is the nation’s capital city. Trump was able to invoke a section of its 1973 Home Rule Act — which gave residents of the nation’s capital a degree of self-governance, including the ability to elect a mayor — to exert federal control over the city’s police force.

Trump reiterated Monday that he would like for the local leaders in areas he is looking to expand his crackdown to ask for help addressing crime, but he made clear he would proceed as he found necessary regardless.

The Trump administration has looked to withhold federal funds from states and cities that push back against his policies on several issues. Last week, a judge ruled against Trump’s effort to keep federal funds from going to more than 30 cities and counties the administration has identified as having "sanctuary" policies when it comes to immigration and cooperation with the federal government.

Several other orders Trump signed Monday pertained specifically to Washington, including one seeking to ensure as many criminal defendants are held in federal custody as possible and to the “fullest extent permissible" and changing the city’s own bail policies.

“Cashless bail — we're ending it,” Trump said. “But we're starting by ending it in D.C.”

The president also signed an order directing the attorney general to investigate instances of people burning the American flag and pursue charges if there is evidence of criminal activity that is not protected by the First Amendment, as was established by the Supreme Court.

Trump signaled Monday he could ask Congress to codify the orders he signed as well. He also asserted that Congress — which is fully controlled by Republicans — has already “said that they'll give us whatever money is needed to fix up” Washington. Last week, Trump said he intends to ask for $2 billion.

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[1] Url: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/coastal/news/2025/08/25/trump-signs-order-to-potentially-withhold-funds-from-states--cities-with--no-cash-bail--policies-as-he-talks-larger-crime-crackdown

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