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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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A group of Democrats are seeking to curb the president's pardoning powers by amending the U.S. Constitution.
Posting on X, California Democrat Mike Levin issued a statement about a constitutional amendment he is co-sponsoring "to reform the pardon power" by banning self-pardons, barring pardons for family members, senior officials and campaign staff and blocking pardons "used to protect the president's personal or financial interests."
The proposal was first introduced to Congress in January and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary in the same month. It was sponsored by Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen and the other co-sponsors are California Democrat Ted Lieu, Oregon Democrat Suzanne Bonamici and Georgia Democrat Henry Johnson.
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Levin said "presidents of both parties have misused" pardoning powers but raised particular concerns about President Donald Trump's use of pardons.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek: “President Trump has exercised his constitutional authority to issue pardons and commutations for a variety of individuals. And the only pardons anyone should be critical of are from President Autopen, who pardoned and commuted sentences of violent criminals including child killers and mass murderers– and that’s not to mention the proactive pardons he ‘signed’ for his family members like Hunter on his way out the door.”
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Why It Matters
Trump's use of pardons and commutations has raised questions about the limits of executive power. Critics have said he is using the powers to help his allies and undermining the legitimacy of the justice system. Meanwhile, a June review by House Judiciary Democrats found that Trump's pardons at that point had cost victims and taxpayers some $1.3 billion in payments.
However, Trump's supporters say he is using the system to correct what they deem to be unjust sentences.
What To Know
Levin said in a video on X: "The presidential pardon has reached a breaking point." He said it is meant to be used "for justice and mercy" and "the public good" but "presidents of both parties have misused this power."
He also said Trump's use of the powers had been "unprecedented" and "used to erase convictions for extremely serious crimes."
"Protecting this system belongs to everyone," he said.
He said he was co-sponsoring a constitutional amendment "to reform the pardon power" with provisions including banning self-pardons, barring pardons for family members, senior officials and campaign staff and blocking pardons "used to protect the president's personal or financial interests." It would also invalidate pardons "issued for a corrupt purpose."
It comes amid Trump making a flurry of high-profile pardons during his second term in office thus far. In January, Trump released around 1,500 people convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
Months later, in October, Trump commuted former New York Republican representative George Santos' fraud sentence. He had been less than three months into his sentence, having pleaded guilty in August 2024 to multiple counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, campaign finance violations, and other financial crimes.
Trump also pardoned Changpeng Zhao in October, who pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering in 2023.
Calvin Jillson, a politics professor at Southern Methodist University in Texas told Newsweek that while it was "correct to decry the pardon power" it had "virtually no chance" of passing because passing constitutional amendments is so rare.
What People Are Saying
Calvin Jillson, a politics professor at Southern Methodist University in Texas, told Newsweek: "Donald Trump’s quasi-monarchical use of the pardon power to provide relief to the friends and supporters provides all the evidence one should need that the pardon power is at odds with modern democracy and the rule of law.”
California Democrat Mark Levin wrote on X: "Right now, there are no meaningful checks on the President’s pardon power. That makes it ripe for abuse, and it’s a threat to the rule of law."
Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin said in a June statement: "While prior presidents overwhelmingly reserved pardons for those who accepted responsibility for their crimes, made full restitution to their victims and paid all their legal fines, Trump uses pardons not only to shorten the sentences of his political friends but to wipe out the debt they owe to their victims and to our society.
What Happens Next
A constitutional amendment would need approval from a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to go ahead.
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