Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced legislation Monday to combat what she called the cashless bail disaster, aligning her efforts with President Donald Trump’s executive order to abolish the policy nationwide.
The two bills—one for Washington, D.C., and one for the rest of the nation—mirror companion legislation in the Senate introduced by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). “Today, Sen. Marsha Blackburn and I are working alongside President Trump to end the cashless bail disaster. We can’t allow arrested individuals who are awaiting trial to be released back onto the streets to commit more crimes against their communities,” Stefanik said.
Blackburn echoed that warning, noting cashless bail has “empowered violent criminals across our country, putting the lives of law-abiding citizens at risk.”
Evidence backs them up. A 2023 study by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office in California found that suspects released without bail committed 163 percent more crimes—and 200 percent more violent crimes—than those who posted bail. Real-world examples highlight the danger: in Washington, D.C., a Jewish man was brutally attacked by a suspect who had been released on cashless bail just days earlier.
In New York, Stefanik blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul for allowing a Guatemalan national facing multiple felony charges to walk free after allegedly selling drug-laced gummies that hospitalized 12 students. “Under Kathy Hochul’s failed leadership, cashless bail policies in New York pose a clear and present danger to the Nation and must be terminated,” Stefanik said.
