President Donald Trump signed executive orders targeting cashless bail and criminalizing flag-burning protests. The cashless bail order conditions federal funding on suspending cashless bail and directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to report within 30 days on jurisdictions that eliminated cash bail. The administration emphasized Washington, D.C., and reports indicate national guard troops are being armed there. The administration asserts that cashless bail increases crime, while multiple analyses find no correlation and D.C.'s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council reported only seven pretrial rearrests (3%) between August 2024 and January 2025, none for violent crimes.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he signs a series of executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House on August 25, 2025 in Washington, D.C.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Monday aimed at ending cashless bail and criminalizing flag burning protests - as reports say that the administration is arming national guard troops patrolling Washington, D.C., in a major escalation.
But there is no evidence to back this claim. Numerous analyses have found that there is no correlation between cashless bail policies and crime rates in places where it's been implemented. D.C.'s own Criminal Justice Coordinating Council recently found that only seven people, or 3 percent, of defendants were rearrested on pre-trial release between August 2024 and January 2025. None of them were rearrested for violent crimes.
The order regarding cashless bail declares that states and local governments that do not suspend their cashless bail policies will lose federal funding. It instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to report on states and jurisdictions that have eliminated cash bail within the next 30 days. Trump has specifically instructed his administration to focus on D.C., which has had a cashless bail system for decades.
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