Measures To End Cashless Bail and Enforce the Law in the District of Columbia

The order directs members of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force — composed of federal law enforcement agencies — to hold D.C. arrestees in federal custody and pursue federal charges to the fullest extent permissible, circumventing D.C. pretrial release rules. It also directs the Attorney General to review Metropolitan Police Department general orders and policies, and to request that the D.C. Mayor update any policies that contribute to pretrial release of dangerous suspects, invoking authority under section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act.

Separately, the Attorney General must determine whether D.C. continues to prohibit cash bail as a pretrial condition. If she concludes it does, all executive agency heads — coordinating with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget — must identify appropriate pressure actions, which may include federal funding decisions or denial of federal services and approvals. Each agency head decides which actions to pursue within the bounds of applicable law. The order does not itself change D.C. law, reschedule any funding, or alter bail statutes.

Federal law enforcement agencies operating in D.C. under the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, the D.C. Mayor and Metropolitan Police Department, individuals arrested in D.C. who may be transferred to federal custody, and D.C. government programs that receive federal funding or approvals.

People arrested in D.C. for violent or property crimes may increasingly face federal charges and federal pretrial detention rather than release under D.C.'s bail rules. D.C. government programs could face funding cuts or loss of federal services if the Attorney General determines cashless bail policies remain in place.

The order runs on two tracks. Track one is immediate: federal Task Force agencies begin routing D.C. arrests into the federal system — federal charges, federal detention — sidestepping D.C. courts. Track two is conditional: the Attorney General first makes a formal determination about D.C. bail policy, and only if she finds cashless bail remains in place do agency heads then identify and choose leverage actions such as funding cuts or denial of approvals, in coordination with OMB. No agency is bound to a specific action; each head retains discretion within applicable law.