AG Pam Bondi meets with NYPD after Trump order on cashless bail

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi met with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch Monday, just hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening to cut federal funding to jurisdictions with cashless bail policies, a police department spokesperson said.

The late-afternoon meeting, planned last week, also comes as Trump has suggested sending National Guard troops to New York City and Chicago, similar to his plans for taking over policing in Washington, D.C.

Several NYPD chiefs attended the meeting, though no formal agenda was set, according to the spokesperson.

Officials called the meeting positive and productive but wouldn’t say if the state’s cashless bail policy came up. A spokesperson said Tisch politely told Bondi the National Guard or federal law enforcement support is not needed in the city as crime is at record lows.

Authorities said the two also discussed two policy priorities for Tisch, quality-of-life enforcement and getting federal permission to take down potentially hostile drones.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to queries about the meeting.

Mayor Eric Adams did not attend the meeting and did not respond to questions about whether members of his administration are meeting separately with Bondi. The meeting represents the first direct contact between New York City's top law enforcement official and the Trump administration's Justice Department since the president took office with promises to crack down on what he calls "Democrat-run" cities.

Trump signed an executive order earlier Monday that directs the attorney general to identify states and local jurisdictions that have "substantially eliminated cash bail" and for federal department heads to identify funding to these jurisdictions that could be suspended or terminated.

"When these individuals are released without bail under city or state policies, they are permitted — even encouraged — to further endanger law-abiding, hard-working Americans because they know our laws will not be enforced," the order states.

Tisch has also criticized the state’s bail policies for what she calls “surging recidivism.” Legislation passed in 2019 and in effect since 2020 prevents New York judges from requiring bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.

Jen Goodman, a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, pushed back against Trump’s executive order Monday, saying he has “no concept of how the law works in New York.” She noted New York has not completely eliminated cash bail; it’s still available for certain charges, mostly violent felonies.

“[Trump’s] reckless threat to withhold federal funds would only undercut law enforcement and make our communities less safe,” Goodman said in a statement.

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat from the Bronx, said Trump will likely face a court battle if he tries to withhold funds from New York without congressional approval.

“Presidents can't unilaterally deny funding just because they feel like it,” Heastie said. “That's why you have a legislature and a Congress. And so he can say what he wants, but that's why we also have the courts as well.”

Bondi is in New York to attend a press conference in Brooklyn about drug cartel arrests. The police spokesperson said the commissioner is aware that bail policy "might come up" during the meeting, along with the issue of National Guard troops.

Adams addressed potential federal intervention earlier this month, saying the city doesn't need outside help with public safety.

"We have made it clear to the federal government that just three simple words: We got this," Adams told reporters after the takeover in Washington, D.C.

Legal experts recently told Gothamist that Trump could deploy troops to New York under specific circumstances, but that he would face several legal hurdles different than those in the Washington deployment.