(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing back on President Donald Trump’s “reckless” push to do away with cashless bail, saying the move to withhold federal funding would undermine public safety. 

Trump signed an executive order Monday threatening to withhold federal funding from states and cities that allow cashless bail, arguing the policies pose a threat to public safety. The White House also released a memo with the new order highlighting several cases where suspects in New York and other cities were released without bail but later accused of committing other crimes, including murder, drug dealing and sexual assault. 

“Maintaining order and public safety requires incarcerating individuals whose pending criminal charges or criminal history demonstrate a clear ongoing risk to society,” Trump’s directive states. “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.” 

However, a Hochul spokesperson issued a statement blasting Trump for misunderstanding how New York’s bail law works and pointing to changes in the law that strike a balance between due process and protecting public safety. 

“New York has not eliminated cash bail. His reckless threat to withhold federal funds would only undercut law enforcement and make our communities less safe,” the statement said. “The fact is Governor Hochul changed New York’s bail laws so violent offenders are held accountable, and as a result rearrests are down. New York now has one of the lowest violent crime rates in six decades.” 

New York eliminated bail for most nonviolent felony charges in 2020 as part of overhauling the criminal justice system. A series of high-profile murders and shootings across the state prompted Hochul and others to call for tightening pre-detention bail laws. A provision in the two-year $229 billion budget signed by Hochul in April included changes to the system that gave New York state judges more discretion to keep dangerous suspects locked up ahead of trial.

But Trump’s order drew praise from New York Republicans, who have sought unsuccessfully for years to do away with the state’s bail law. 

“Kathy Hochul and NY Democrats’ failed bail reform has been a catastrophic disaster leading to a crime crisis in New York making every family and community less safe,” U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York City Republican, said in a statement. “Again and again, Kathy Hochul has prioritized violent criminals over law-abiding New Yorkers. Enough is enough.” 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has pushed for changes to the state’s bail law, used Trump’s order to criticize his main rivals in the upcoming election, Democratic nominee and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed the original bail reform law. 

“Zohran Mamdani wants to finish what Andrew Cuomo started,” Adams, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary, said in a statement. “Cuomo signed the reckless bail reform law that unleashed violent criminals into YOUR neighborhoods. Now Mamdani wants to take it even further by defunding the NYPD and leaving YOUR city — especially Black and Brown communities — defenseless.” 

A Cuomo campaign spokesman defended the 2020 bail reforms and criticized Adams for claiming that he is the “law and order” candidate in the mayoral race.

“As New York has cash bail for violent offenses, and repeat offender arrests have been decreasing, it’s clear that the drafters of this executive order don’t know the facts about New York’s law,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in the statement. “But it doesn’t matter as it’s very likely that this order — like many of this administration’s EOs — won’t stand up in court.”

(The Center Square) – State Sen. Joe Gruters of Florida has been elected chairman of the Republican National Committee.

He succeeds Michael Whatley, the North Carolinian running for a U.S. Senate seat in 2026. Both were tapped by Donald Trump, Whatley as the 2024 presidential cycle heated up and Gruters in Atlanta on Friday as Trump’s wingman for the party in the 2026 midterms.

Gruters, 48, is an accountant by trade. He is not required to resign his state Senate post; in the “resign-to-run” state law, he would need to if still planning to run for state chief financial officer in 2026.

That post was given to state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia on July 16 by second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Jimmy Patronis resigned the position and Ingoglia serves until the 2026 midterms.

Trump, a Palm Beach resident when not at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., had encouraged DeSantis to choose Gruters for CFO.

In a network broadcast interview after elected, Gruters said, “This is the president’s party. This is the president’s vision, overall. The party fully embraces the president. We’re going to ride the president all the way to victory in the midterms, and we are going to win big.”

Whatley called his time as chairman “the honor of a lifetime.”

“I am immensely proud of the work we accomplished, and I am excited to pass the torch on to Chairman Gruters,” he said. “Now, it’s time to get to work and fight for the people of North Carolina.”

Gruters had no opposition for election. On social media, Trump called Whatley “incredible” and again pledged his support for the senatorial campaign.

“As state senator and chairman of the Republican Party of Florida,” Trump said of Gruters, “Joe helped us deliver massive and historic victories across the state, including my big six wins, including primaries, in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and has helped us turn Florida red as red can be!”

The connection between Gruters and Trump dates more than a decade. History traces it in earnest to a Sarasota County Statesman of the Year dinner in 2012. He followed with support in 2015 while Marco Rubio, now secretary of state in the Trump administration, and Gov. Jeb Bush were presidential candidates.

Gruters is a former member (2016-18) of the state House of Representatives. He has served in the state Senate since 2018.

(The Center Square) – As they often have throughout the summer, motorists in North Carolina are paying about 30 cents less than the nation on average for gasoline.

Summer’s unofficial closing of Labor Day weekend arrives this week, with many families already in the state’s tourism meccas. The state average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline is $2.86, with prices a little lower in the mountains and a tick higher along the 320 miles of ocean shoreline.

A year ago, the state average was $3.11, according to the American Automobile Association. The average for diesel is $3.45, down from $3.64 a year ago.

Nationally, the unleaded gas average is $3.16, down from $3.35 last year, and diesel is $3.68, down slightly from $3.70, respectively.

Per Environmental Protection Agency rules in place from June 1 to Sept. 15, the less volatile summer blend fuel must be sold. Price impact is generally considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.

Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.

North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 33.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 36.3 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of the calendar year, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.

Ten states have lower average prices for a gallon of unleaded; 14 are lower for diesel; and seven are lower in electric.

Among 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in Fayetteville at $2.76. The most expensive area is the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area at $2.92.

Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($3.29) in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton market.

North Carolina’s 40.3 cents per gallon tax rate for 2025 is topped by California (59.6), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (49.4), Illinois (47), Maryland (46.1), and New Jersey (44.9).

Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.