Trump on Monday defended the federal takeover of Washington, saying it’s now in “great shape,” as he signed an executive order targeting cashless bail in the city.
Trump on Monday defended the federal takeover of Washington, saying it’s now in “great shape,” as he signed an executive order targeting cashless bail in the city.
“If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump began Monday by signing executive orders in the Oval Office, targeting cashless bail and flag-burning. He then hosts South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
Trump continued to defend the administration’s actions in Washington, D.C. during an executive signing at the White House.
Trump on Sunday responded to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s invitation to attend a public safety walk next month in Baltimore, offering to send “troops” to the city as the administration continued to threaten an expansion of its law enforcement crackdown.
Latest headlines:
Here’s how the news is developing.
19 minutes ago
Trump signs order to investigate flag burning as criminal act
“If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail,” President Donald Trump said as he signed executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday.
He signed an order that White House staff secretary Will Scharf said will charge the Justice Department with investigating instances of flag burning and prosecute “when there’s evidence of criminal activity.”
In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that flag burning was a form of “symbolic speech” under the Constitution.
“Thank you for protecting the American flag. And we’ll do that without running afoul of the First Amendment as well,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told the president.
“What it does is incite to riot,” Trump said of flag burning. He said under this order, “you will see flag burning stopping immediately.”
35 minutes ago
Trump signs executive orders targeting cashless bail
President Donald Trump on Monday defended the federal takeover of Washington, D.C., saying it’s now in “great shape,” as he signed an executive order targeting cashless bail in the city.
“We’re ending it, but we’re starting by ending it in D.C.,” Trump said. “And that we have the right to do through federalization.”
Trump was flanked by top officials for the signing, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Trump signed another executive order that the White House said will task the attorney general with identifying areas around the country with cashless bail policies and withholds or revokes federal funds to the city. Trump took aim at cash-bail policies in Illinois and criticized Gov. JB Pritzker as he signed the order.
2 hours and 25 minutes ago
Trump plans to sign executive order to end cashless bail in Washington: Sources
President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Monday aimed at ending cashless bail for suspects arrested in Washington, D.C.,, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The order is expected to threaten withholding federal funding from Washington and possibly other cities that have cashless bail, the sources said. Supporters of cashless bail have argued that it harms those lower-income offenders who don’t have the means to afford paying bail for release from jail pending trial.
Trump has suggested his administration would take steps to eliminate cashless bail in Washington and other places, and has been more vocal about this in recent weeks amid his federal crackdown in the nation’s capital.
“No, we’re going to be essentially crime-free. This is going to be a beacon, and it’s going to also serve as an example of what can be done. We have to get rid of this cashless bail nonsense,” Trump said earlier this month.
Axios first reported Trump’s plans to sign the order on Monday.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders
6:42 AM EDT
Trump to sign executive orders, host South Korea president
President Donald Trump will begin his Monday by signing executive orders in the Oval Office at 10 a.m., according to the official White House schedule.
At 12:15 p.m, Trump will hold a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, before the two men have lunch at 12:45 p.m.
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
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