WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to sign executive orders Monday aimed at eliminating cashless bail for suspects arrested in Washington, D.C., and in other jurisdictions around the nation with similar policies, according to fact sheets describing the executive orders that the White House provided to NBC News.
The executive order on D.C. directs the administration to take certain actions if the city does not change its cashless bail policy, including "federal funding decisions, services, or approvals," according to the fact sheet. Attorney General Pam Bondi, too, could get involved, though the fact sheet did not detail what actions she might take.
The order on D.C., first reported by Axios, will also ask law enforcement officials to work to ensure that people arrested in the city are taken into federal custody "to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law," according to a copy of the fact sheet obtained by NBC News.
The executive order aimed at other cities across the nation will direct the administration to find federal funds that could be "suspended or terminated" in jurisdictions that have cashless bail policies, the fact sheet said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office declined to comment to NBC News.
Trump will sign another executive order on Monday aiming at prosecuting people who "desecrate" the American flag, a third fact sheet said. That order, first reported by Fox News, directs Bondi to "vigorously prosecute those who violate our laws in ways that involve desecrating the flag, and to pursue litigation to clarify the scope of First Amendment in this area."
The order also targets noncitizens by asking the administration to "deny, prohibit, terminate, or revoke visas, residence permits, or naturalization proceedings, and other immigration benefits, or seek removal" of non-citizens who desecrate the flag. The order could hit a legal obstacle in that the Supreme Court decided in Texas v. Johnson in 1989 that flag burning was protected by the First Amendment.
The D.C. executive order on cashless bail is Trump's latest step to broaden the administration's control over the capital. It comes on the heels of the White House's move to deploy and arm National Guard troops in an effort to fight crime. Critics, though, have slammed the administration's handling as overreach and unnecessary.
They argue that cash bail disproportionately hurts low-income people, who may have more difficulty securing the money to pay bail for release from jail.
Trump, though, has criticized the practice, saying earlier this month that it was a "disaster" and caused "so many problems came that we never had before."
"So they're watching us today, and if they don't learn their lesson, if they haven't studied us properly, because we're going to be very successful," Trump said of other cities earlier this month.
The U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, claimed on "Fox & Friends" on Monday morning that cashless bail "is when all of the problems started." She criticized defendants being released, asserting that "they are reoffending and they’re reoffending again."
D.C. has had a cashless bail system since 1992. The policy means that judges decide whether people charged with crimes pose a risk to others or the community at large or would pose a flight risk if released without money for bail connected with the person’s freedom. If judges make any of those determinations, then they may opt to hold a defendant in a detention facility before trial.
As part of the city government's own safety measures, the D.C. Council extended its pretrial detention policy in July.
The expected executive order comes as National Guard troops in D.C. began carrying firearms Sunday evening. Also over the weekend, Trump threatened to deploy troops to Baltimore. Just days earlier, he floated sending the National Guard to Chicago and New York.
Trump's focus on how the capital is run is a stark departure from prior administrations. He has enacted sweeping changes by surging National Guard and federal agents into the city, pushing enforcement agencies to clear homeless encampments and restoring a Confederate memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.
Last week, Trump also announced that he ordered attorneys to review Smithsonian museums, arguing that the storied museums were not positive enough about U.S. history, "where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been."
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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