US Edition‘Cashless bail’: The origins of the bail reform movement and why Trump wants to end it
President Trump signed orders threatening to cut federal funds from jurisdictions with cashless bail, citing public safety concerns despite studies showing no crime increase after reforms.
- On Aug. 25, President Donald Trump signed executive orders on cashless bail nationwide, saying, `One of the executive orders has to do with cashless bail. That was when the big crime in this country started.`
- In recent years, jurisdictions moved away from cash bail as experts cite its disproportionate impact on low-income people and people of color; District of Columbia began non-cash approaches in 1992 and Illinois enacted its Pretrial Fairness Act .
- Major studies found no clear tie between reform and crime, with the Brennan Center for Justice's 33-city study showing no increase, while local data from the Data Collaborative for Justice and District of Columbia's Pretrial Services Agency report high compliance and reduced recidivism.
- The executive order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify states and local jurisdictions with cashless bail within 30 days, threatening to withhold federal grants and contracts, but legal experts warn, `Such coercion is likely to be found illegal by the courts.`
- Advocates highlight systemic costs and cases like Kalief Browder's, noting U.S. taxpayers spend about $38 million per day on pretrial jailing, with over 60% held for inability to pay bail.
41 Articles
41 Articles
Why is Donald Trump signing an executive order against cashless bail
Trump’s claims conflict with national crime data that shows violent crime has dropped consistently for the last several years, following a peak during and after the pandemic. A trend that happened in jurisdictions whether or not they were among the handful which enacted bail reform.
'Two-tiered justice system': Trump attacks cashless bail after paying $175 million to walk free while poor people rot in jail
President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Monday to end cashless bail policies across the country, threatening to cut federal funding to cities and states that have these programs. The orders target Washington, D.C., and other places that let people await trial without paying money up front. Trump plans to have Attorney General Pam Bondi make a list of places with cashless bail policies within 30 days. Those places could lose federal gra…
Trump Tackles Cashless Bail - Geller Report
Trump is right. Criminals walk away and never come back. They are no repercussions for crime. That’s not civilization, that’s barbarity. TAKING STEPS TO END CASHLESS BAIL TO PROTECT AMERICANS Executive Orders August 25, 2025 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose and Policy. Maintaining order and public safety requires incarcerating ind…
Illinois lawmakers slam Trump's Executive Order targeting Pretrial reform
A trio of Illinois Democratic lawmakers on Monday, August 25, condemned President Donald Trump’s recent executive order targeting states that have eliminated cash bail, calling it a politically motivated fearmongering tactic that threatens public safety and ignores a growing body of data proving the success of such pretrial reform. During a virtual press conference, State […]
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