Republican Joins With Dems on Constitutional Amendment to Give Congress Power to Reject Trump Pardons
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters on the South Lawn before leaving the White House on Friday, February 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) signed on Monday to co-sponsor a Democratic-led bill to amend the U.S. Constitution to give Congress oversight of presidential pardons, a measure aimed at pushing back against the President Donald Trump’s Highly controversial use of the president’s pardon power.
The bill was introduced by the House of Representatives. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) last December would allow at least 20 House members and five senators to call for congressional review of the pardon; This would lead to a 60-day period for Congress to override the pardon by a two-thirds majority vote—similar to a veto override.
Olszewski announced his bill, the Pardon Integrity Act, in a floor speech that listed some of Trump’s most controversial pardons, including a blanket pardon for all rioters, including those who violently attacked police officers on Jan. 6.
“None of us should accept as normal practice for a president, any president, to use his executive pardon power to exonerate convicted drug lords, those convicted of violently assaulting law enforcement officers, or even a money laundering cryptocurrency boss with ties to the president’s family business,” Olszewski said in his speech.
But that’s exactly what President Trump did. On his first day back in office, President Trump pardoned 1,500 people involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. He has since pardoned or commuted the sentences of nearly 90 people. He recently added the 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 United States. Hernandez was also convicted of accepting bribes from violent drug cartel members to advance his political career and protecting them from prosecution in exchange for bribes.
Olszewski explained Bacon He agreed with his bill, writing: “The Constitution does not authorize any president to hold himself above the law. I am proud that Congressman Bacon has joined this effort, because protecting democracy and upholding justice should never be a partisan issue. When the pardon power is abused to protect criminals and political allies, Congress has a responsibility to act.”
“This change creates a narrow, common-sense check to ensure that the pardon power is exercised fairly and responsibly, regardless of who sits in the White House.” added.
Bacon, a former Air Force general who is not seeking re-election in his swing district, added: “Presidential pardons are an important constitutional authority, but like all powers possessed by the executive branch, these authorities enjoy the appropriate checks and balances provided by the Constitution. In many administrations, we have seen legitimate questions raised about how this power has been simultaneously used and Congress’s ability to provide oversight has been weakened.”
“Frankly, there has been an abuse of the pardon power. I am pleased to co-sponsor Rep. Olszewski’s Pardon Integrity Act, a constitutional amendment that creates a narrow, common sense guardrail that preserves the pardon power while ensuring that Congress fulfills its constitutional role to ensure accountability and uphold the rule of law,” Bacon said in a statement. Bacon’s support for measure follows Trump’s forgive Several NFL players have been convicted of various crimes, including drug trafficking.
Bacon is also behind a bipartisan bill that would return the power to tax tariffs solely to Congress, while adhering to the original text of the Constitution.
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