White House cashless bail rebuke cites New York cases, but state says it has not eliminated cash bail
As President Trump takes aim at cashless bail in a federal crackdown on crime, he signed an executive order Monday threatening to withhold funding from Washington, D.C. and other cities that refuse to end the practice.
Mr. Trump signed the order as the White House labeled cashless bail "a government-backed crime spree" and used some New York City cases as examples.
One case involved a man released without bail in 2022 after he allegedly smeared feces on a woman waiting for a subway train. Another involved two men released without bail in 2023 after they were accused of beating up an NYPD officer.
Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi met with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Monday afternoon and sources told CBS News New York that they spoke about the possibility of the president sending National Guard troops to the city.
Tisch told Bondi that the city's crime rates are at a record low and there is no need for the National Guard, the sources said.
NYPD could lose $200 million under Trump's cashless bail order
Mr. Trump's executive order directs Bondi to identify jurisdictions with cashless bail policies and revoke federal grants from those that do not comply.
The president made it abundantly clear he wants to expand the program beyond Washington, D.C. and that New York could be next.
That could become a $200 million headache for the city if the administration decides to revoke federal grants to the NYPD. It amounts to about 3% of the city's $6.1 billion police budget, but goes toward critical antiterrorism programs.
Mayor Eric Adams, who is in an uphill battle for reelection this year, said the department would still be OK.
"We're going to always do our job. We're asking our other criminal justice partners to do theirs," Adams said.
The New York Civil Liberties Union issued the statement, "Today's [executive order] is also about reckless domination, with its threats to withhold federal funds, and coming amid Trump's baseless threats to deploy federal troops to city streets."
A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul's office insisted rearrests of people on pretrial release are down from 24% in 2020 to 17% in 2024.
New York's cashless bail law
New York's cashless bail law eliminated cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies in 2019, but public outcry forced Hochul to push through several reforms.
"[Mr. Trump] has no concept of how our laws work here. We have made some substantial changes to the bail laws. Not once, but two consecutive sessions. Those changes are working and the data is bearing that out," Hochul said at an unrelated event Tuesday morning.
The original bill was signed by Hochul's predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, a current independent candidate for mayor of New York City.
Upstate Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who is eyeing a run for governor in 2026, said she will write new legislation to outlaw cashless bail.
"Kathy Hochul has prioritized violent criminals over law-abiding New Yorkers. Enough is enough," she said.
City Councilwoman Tiffany Caban is a former public defender.
"We know that the research shows that instituting cashless bail in different jurisdictions does not increase crime," Caban said. "We know that people overwhelmingly come back to court, and it breaks down that those [are] two systems of justice, one for the wealthy, one for the less wealthy or poor."
Cashless bail in the NYC mayor's race
Several candidates in the New York City mayor's race looked to hold Cuomo responsible for easing the state's bail provisions.
"Cashless bail created by Andrew Cuomo in 2019 as governor," Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa said.
"Always made it clear that a revolving door system of dealing with violent offenders must be addressed. I think the former governor made a terrible mistake with how they did bail reform," Adams said.
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in response to Adams and Sliwa, "One was criminally indicted for corruption and the other was caught red handed faking crimes for cheap publicity for his fake vigilante group. Neither is the law and order candidate."
Zohran Mamdani was elected to the state assembly after Cuomo signed the bill, but the Democratic nominee said he would fight the president's executive order.
"We have seen that the best way to fight Donald Trump is to do exactly that. It's to fight him. It's not to cower, it's not to collaborate, it's not to call him," Mamdani said.
Cashless bail is affecting other decisions in the mayor's race, like who can best work with Mr. Trump and who can best stand up to him on issues that impact the city.
