President Donald Trump on Monday signed a pair of executive orders aimed at dismantling cashless-bail policies, starting with an immediate end to the practice for suspects arrested in Washington, D.C., and threatening to withhold federal funds from cities and states that continue to use it elsewhere. One order instructs law-enforcement agencies in the nation’s capital to pursue federal charges and hold defendants in federal custody “to the fullest extent permissible,” bypassing the city’s long-standing system that allows most arrestees to await trial without posting money bail. A companion directive tasks Attorney General Pam Bondi with compiling, within 30 days, a list of jurisdictions that have substantially eliminated cash bail and identifying federal grants that could be suspended or terminated. Trump framed the measures as a public-safety imperative, arguing that cashless bail enables repeat offenders to return quickly to the streets. Critics, including civil-rights advocates, called the move an overreach and pointed to studies by Loyola University Chicago and the Brennan Center that found no statistically significant link between bail reforms and overall crime rates. Washington, D.C., has relied on a risk-based release system since 1992, while Illinois became the first state to abolish cash bail in 2023; New Jersey, New Mexico and several large cities have also sharply curtailed its use. Supporters of reform say money-based bail unfairly penalises low-income defendants, whereas opponents contend it undermines court compliance and public safety. The White House orders set the stage for potential legal challenges from jurisdictions that argue the administration lacks authority to condition broad categories of federal funding on criminal-justice policies. Bondi’s forthcoming list and any funding decisions are expected to clarify the breadth of the federal government’s leverage and test the limits of executive power in reshaping pre-trial detention practices.