Sunday snapshot: Lawmakers mull presidential pardon limits
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Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes speaks with reporters outside of the Longworth House Office Building cafeteria on Capitol Hill on Jan. 22 in Washington, DC. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
President Trump entered his resurgent era on an avalanche of dozens of sweeping executive orders and proclamations, some of which had immediate impacts on immigration, the federal bureaucracy, the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.
Yes, but: Not everyone in the MAGA masses is singing the same tune.
Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, Jan. 26.
1. Trump, Biden face pardon pushback
Monday's flurry of pardons from President Trump and former President Biden exposed a glimmer of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill — with many lawmakers agreeing both took their power too far.
- Minutes before leaving office, Biden preemptively pardoned five family members. And just after Trump took over the Oval Office, he pardoned some 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants.
What they're saying: Pardoning those who beat up law enforcement officers on Jan. 6 was "a mistake," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
- "I will be consistent here, I don't like the idea of bailing people out of jail or pardoning people who burned down cities and beat up cops, whether you are Republican or a Democrat," he continued.
- Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Graham also criticized Biden's use of pardons and suggested there should be "an effort to rein in the pardon power of the president" if perceived abuses persist.
The other side: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called for additional guardrails on the president's vast pardon power on "Fox News Sunday," highlighting legislation he introduced following Trump's Jan. 6 pardons.
- "These decisions are made in the shadows; they are a black box," he said.
Worth noting: It's not just lawmakers who would be on board with a change. Some participants in Axios' latest Engagious/Sago swing-voter focus group said Trump and Biden both went too far with their presidential pardons and that they'd back a theoretical constitutional amendment to taper presidential pardon power.
Zoom out: Both the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police union in the U.S., and the International Association of Chiefs of Police condemned Trump's near-total pardons of Jan. 6 rioters.
- Among the roughly 1,500 pardoned and 14 others whose sentences were commuted were individuals who attacked officers and leaders of the extremist groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
Threat level: Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) highlighted the hyper-partisan environment violent Jan. 6 rioters and members of extremist groups were released into, saying on CBS News' "Face the Nation," "None of this is making us safe."
- While he defended Biden's decision to pardon his family members in the wake of persistent threats from Trump and fears of political retribution, Crow said, "what I would like to see overall is pardon reform."
- "People need to know that the person sitting in the Oval Office has their best interests in mind at all times," Crow said, "and certainly not with Donald Trump right now can they have that feeling of trust and confidence, because ... five days into this administration, the abuse is already rampant."
2. Trump's inspectors general firings generate some shrugs
Trump's ongoing civil service shakeup saw more than a dozen inspectors general booted from their posts across the federal government Friday.
The intrigue: The terminations, as stated by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, appear to violate federal law requiring a 30-day congressional notice of intent to fire a Senate-confirmed inspector general.
- "There may be good reason the IGs were fired," Grassley said in a Saturday statement to CNN. "We need to know that if so. I'd like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30-day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress."
- Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) described Trump's move as "a clear violation of law," while Blumenthal challenged his GOP colleagues to "join me in opposing these firings."
- Blumenthal added, "Elon Musk ought to be also joining because he is against wasteful spending," something watchdogs would likely monitor.
Yes, but: Graham noted that while Trump "technically" violated the law, he has "the authority" to dismiss personnel.
Zoom out: Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) echoed Graham Sunday, brushing off concerns that Trump may install loyalists in inspector general posts.
- "It's very common as new administrations come in that specifically these positions be replaced," he said.
- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) similarly shrugged off the dismissals, telling Fox's Shannon Bream, "Ultimately, these inspectors general serve at the pleasure of the president — he wants new people in there."
Flashback: During Trump's first-term fight to purge the government and so-called "deep state" of those deemed disloyal, he targeted multiple inspectors general.
- While it is normal for political appointees to be replaced during presidential transitions, a report from the Congressional Research Service notes that the "practice has disfavored removal of IGs during presidential transitions" following sweeping action at the beginning of former President Reagan's term.
- Since 1981, the report states, "IGs have remained in their positions during each presidential transition."
3. Republicans urge Trump to rethink pulling security details for ex-officials
Trump's decision to strip security protections from former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others could expose those individuals to threats from abroad and have a chilling effect on future officials, Cotton said Sunday.
- Beyond Pompeo, Trump revoked former national security adviser John Bolton's and former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci's security details.
- Pompeo's top aide Brian Hook also reportedly lost his security.
Context: Pompeo has criticized Trump on foreign and fiscal policy, while Bolton warned his former boss was "unfit" to be president again.
- Fauci has been open about receiving death threats. Pompeo, Bolton and Hook have faced threats from Iran.
What they're saying: "I would encourage the president to revisit the decision for those people who are being targeted by Iran as the president was targeted for assassination by Iran," Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said on "Fox News Sunday."
- The threat to those involved in the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, once one of the Iranian regime's most powerful figures, is "persistent" and "real," Cotton said.
- "It's better to be safe than sorry," he said, "because it's not just about these men who helped President Trump carry out his policy in his first term, it's about their family and friends, innocent bystanders every time they're in public."
Zoom out: Graham seemingly agreed, telling NBC's Kristen Welker Sunday, "if there is a legitimate threat against people who have served our government from a foreign adversary, I don't want to pull that protection."
- "The last thing we want to do in this country is tell somebody, come into our government ... come up with policies to stand up to rogue nations like Iran, they come after you, we pull the rug on you," Graham said.
More from Axios' Sunday coverage:
