President Donald J. Trump
The White House
Fact Sheets

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Measures to End Cashless Bail and Enforce the Law in Washington, D.C.

The White House

MEASURES TO END CASHLESS BAIL IN OUR NATION’S CAPITAL: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order taking steps to ensure that cashless bail in Washington, D.C. is eliminated.

  • The Order tasks the relevant law enforcement agencies and officials that are members of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force to work to ensure that arrestees in the District of Columbia are held in Federal custody to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law, and to pursue Federal charges and pretrial detention for such arrestees whenever possible.
  • The Order directs the Attorney General to determine whether the District of Columbia continues to maintain its cashless bail policy for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety, including murder, rape, carjacking, assault, burglary, looting, and more. 
  • If the District’s cashless-bail policy remains in place, the Order instructs the Administration to take appropriate actions, which may include Federal funding decisions, services, or approvals, as well as actions the Attorney General identifies as necessary and appropriate because of the emergency conditions.

STOPPING DANGEROUS RELEASE POLICIES IN D.C.: The District of Columbia’s cashless bail policies allow dangerous individuals to be released quickly, endangering residents, visitors, and Federal workers, and force law enforcement to repeatedly arrest the same offenders.

  • Under D.C. law, cash bail is effectively outlawed, meaning that the overwhelming majority of individuals arrested and awaiting trial are released back onto the streets.
  • A journalist was reportedly injured and sexually abused near Union Station by a homeless man, only to be released back onto the streets before his trial.
  • A man who threw a Subway sandwich at a Federal officer has been released on his own recognizance, despite being charged with a sentence that carries up to eight years in Federal prison.
  • A man was released after being charged with inappropriately touching three women in Northwest Washington, only to be arrested again just two days later for sexually abusing another three women in broad daylight.
  • Two days after a man was released from court on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting a police officer, he was then charged in a fatal stabbing on a Metro train.
  • Under the District’s cashless bail policy, law enforcement officers risk their lives to arrest dangerous criminals, only to be forced to arrest the same individuals, sometimes for the same crimes, while they repeatedly endanger American citizens visiting our Nation’s capital and federal workers discharging their duties to our Nation.
  • President Trump must protect our Nation’s capital and Federal workers to ensure that the operations and conduct of the responsibilities of the Federal government are carried out safely and successfully.
  • A 2023 study out of Yolo County, California found that its “Zero Bail” policy resulted in 163% more crime and 200% more violent crime compared to those who posted bail.

MAKING AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: The American people elected President Trump to get tough on crime and restore safety to communities nationwide.

  • President Trump: “When I’m reelected, I will crack down on the left-wing jurisdictions that refuse to prosecute dangerous criminals and set loose violent felons on cashless bail… 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.”
  • Earlier this month, President Trump mobilized the national guard and invoked emergency authority over the D.C. Metro Police Department to restore law and order in the District of Columbia.
  • On his first day in office, President Trump sealed the southern border and launched the largest deportation operation in history to remove criminal illegal aliens.
  • He has consistently pushed for stronger law enforcement policies to ensure violent offenders are detained, protecting law-abiding Americans from repeat criminals.