Republican Joins With Dems on Constitutional Amendment to Give Congress Power to Reject Trump Pardons

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before departing the White House, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) signed on Monday to co-sponsor a Democrat-led bill to amend the U.S. Constitution to give Congress oversight of presidential pardons, a measure aimed at pushing back at President Donald Trump’s highly controversial use of the presidential pardon power.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) last December and would allow for a minimum of 20 House members and five senators to call for congressional review of a pardon, which would lead to a 60-day deadline for Congress to nullify that pardon with a two-thirds majority vote – similar to a veto override.

Olszewski announced his bill, the Pardon Integrity Act, in a floor speech listing off some of Trump’s most controversial pardons, including a blanket pardon for all January 6th rioters – including those who violently attacked police officers.

“None of us should accept it as normal practice that a president, any president, used their executive pardon power to absolve convicted drug kingpins, those found guilty of violently attacking law enforcement officers, and even a money laundering crypto magnate with ties to the president’s family business,” Olszewski said in his speech, adding:

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. 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 announced Bacon joining his bill, writing, “The Constitution does not give any president the authority to place themselves above the law. I’m proud to have Congressman Bacon join this effort, because safeguarding 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 amendment creates a narrow, commonsense check to ensure the pardon power is used fairly and responsibly regardless of who occupies the White House,” he added.

Bacon, a former Air Force general who is not seeking reelection in his swing district, added, “Presidential pardons are an important constitutional authority, but like all powers held by the executive branch, these authorities benefit from the appropriate checks and balances the Constitution envisioned. Across multiple administrations, we’ve seen legitimate questions raised about how this authority has been used at the same time, the ability of Congress to provide oversight has weakened.

“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,” concluded Bacon in a statement. Bacon’s support for the measure followed Trump’s pardon of several NFL players who had been convicted of various crimes, including drug trafficking.

Bacon is also behind a bipartisan bill to return the power to levy tariffs solely to Congress, adhering to the original wording of the Constitution.

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