U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Monday that aimed to limit no-cash bail in the nation's capital and threatened to revoke federal funding for other jurisdictions that use it, part of a White House effort to push crime-fighting to the top of the national agenda.

"Cashless bail, we're ending it," Trump said during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office.

Cashless bail is a system where defendants are released from jail while awaiting trial based on their promise to appear in court, rather than by paying a specific cash amount.

Critics of the policy, including Trump, say it reduces the incentive for defendants to show up for trial and puts public safety at risk by allowing them back on the street. Supporters say many low-income people can't afford to post bond.

The orders mark Trump's latest steps to broaden his control over the capital and use the power of the federal purse to try to bend institutions to his will, assertions of presidential power with little recent precedent.

Saying Washington, D.C. was gripped by a violent crime wave, Trump has temporarily seized its police force and allowed National Guard troops to carry weapons while on patrol in the city. He is also threatening to expand the U.S. military presence to cities including Baltimore and Chicago.

Critics have slammed the administration's actions as unnecessary overreach, accusing Trump of manufacturing an emergency to seize greater control of Washington and target Democratic cities.

Trump on Monday nodded to the criticism, saying people are calling him a dictator for his actions.

"I don't like a dictator. I'm not a dictator. I'm a man with great common sense," Trump said.

The nationwide executive order directs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to submit a list of local and state jurisdictions with cashless bail policies and identify federal funds in those places that could be "suspended or terminated," according to a White House fact sheet.

Trump signed a separate order that instructs police in the District of Columbia to charge suspects with federal crimes and hold them in federal custody to avoid no-cash bail, according to another fact sheet.

That order also calls for Bondi to identify potential actions that could include restricting federal funding, services or approvals.

The nation's capital was one of the first U.S. cities to largely eliminate cash bail in the 1990s. Under the city's policy, a judge assesses whether a defendant should be released from jail based on their risk of not showing up for trial.

A 2024 analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice that looked at 22 cities that enacted bail reform, including cashless bail, and 11 that did not between 2015 and 2021, found no evidence of a link to overall crime trends or specific crimes like violent crime and larceny.

The White House referenced a 2023 study by the Yolo County District Attorney's office in California that argued zero-cash bail led to more crime.

TAKING CREDIT

The focus on crime is seen as a preview of how Trump and his fellow Republicans plan to use the issue as they seek to retain control of both houses of Congress in the midterm elections next year.

The administration has taken credit for what they describe as a historic drop in crime in the nation's capital since the federal government launched the crackdown two weeks ago.

Trump, without providing evidence, said D.C. was now the safest city in America. Top aide Stephen Miller said at the Oval Office signing that residents now felt safe enough to start "wearing jewelry again. They're carrying purses again."

Vice President JD Vance and Miller called the lack of a single homicide in the city last week unprecedented.

The city's most recent murder was reported on August 13. It has had similar long stretches without a homicide, including a two-week period earlier this year. Even in years when the murder rate in Washington was higher, the district did at times go a week without any reported killings.

Violent crime in Washington hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year, although it remained more dangerous than many other U.S. cities, based on its homicide rate.

City crime statistics from the past two weeks compared to the same stretch last year showed drops in crimes across multiple categories, including assaults, burglaries and homicides.