A Republican from Nebraska has crossed party lines to support a proposed constitutional amendment that would let Congress evaluate and possibly reverse presidential pardons. This is a direct response to former President Donald Trump’s widespread use of executive clemency.
On Monday, Rep. Don Bacon joined on as a co-sponsor of a bill proposed by Maryland Democrat Rep. Johnny Olszewski that would change the Constitution of the United States. The Pardon Integrity Act would give lawmakers a formal way to question a president’s pardon decisions.
If at least 20 members of the House and five senators agree, they could ask Congress to look into a specific pardon. If the action were started, Congress would have 60 days to vote on whether to nullify the action. To overturn a pardon, both chambers would need to vote by a two-thirds majority, just like they would need to do to override a presidential veto.
In December, Olszewski first proposed the amendment and explained his reasons in a statement on the floor that mentioned what he called “troubling uses of the pardon power.”
He talked about Trump’s broad pardon for people who took part in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, even those who had been found guilty of attacking police officers.
“Yet, this is exactly what President Trump did. On his first day back in office, President Trump pardoned 1,500 people involved in the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Since then, he’s pardoned or commuted the sentences of nearly 90 others,” Olszewski said as reported by Mediaite.
“Just recently, he added former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez to that list. Hernandez was serving a 45-year prison sentence for conspiring to smuggle more than 400 tons or 4.5 billion doses of cocaine into the US. Hernandez was also convicted of accepting bribes from violent drug cartel members to fuel his political career, shielding them from prosecution in exchange for their bribes,” Olszewski added.
“This amendment creates a narrow, commonsense check to ensure the pardon power is used fairly and responsibly regardless of who occupies the White House,” Olszewski added.
Bacon, a former Air Force general who is not running for reelection in his competitive district, also said that guardrails are needed. He said in a statement that presidential pardons are a valid constitutional right, but he also said that executive powers work best when there are checks and balances.
He stated that recent administrations have raised major doubts about how clemency has been used and that Congress’s ability to keep an eye on things has gotten weaker.
“Frankly, it is clear to me the pardon authority has been abused. I’m pleased to cosponsor Rep. Olszewski’s Pardon Integrity Act, a constitutional amendment that establishes a narrow, commonsense guardrail that preserves the pardon power while ensuring Congress can fulfill its constitutional role to provide accountability and uphold the rule of law,” Bacon said.
Bacon chose to back the proposal after Trump gave out more pardons, including ones for NFL players who had been found guilty of drug trafficking and other felonies. The Nebraska lawmaker has also supported other bipartisan measures to strengthen congressional authority. For example, he has supported legislation that would give Congress the sole ability to set tariffs, in line with the Constitution’s original text.
If passed, the proposed amendment would change executive clemency in a big way, adding a congressional check to an authority that has long been seen as one of the presidency’s most powerful.
