Democrats split on eliminating presidential pardons amid controversy

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., called for an end to presidential pardons via message on X Monday.

“I support eliminating presidential pardons for either party. I don’t think that makes sense in the modern world. And we saw why that’s a problem last week,” Slotkin said.

“Last week, Donald Trump pardoned the CEO of a cryptocurrency company called Binance. This CEO had invested heavily in President Trump’s family crypto business. I didn’t like it when the Democrats did it, I didn’t like it when the Republicans did it,” Slotkin said.

While many Democrats in the House of Representatives shared Slotkin’s concerns about the use of clemency, members of the Judiciary Committee were divided on whether lawmakers should eliminate the power altogether.

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Sen. Elissa Slotkin is calling for the presidential pardon to be revoked after President Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, a tech billionaire who was convicted of facilitating money laundering. (Getty/Imagn)

President Donald Trump’s pardon of Changpeng Zhao, a tech billionaire who was convicted of facilitating money laundering, is just the most recent controversy over the pardon power. Trump’s pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riots — coupled with former President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardon of his own family — have raised questions about its appropriate use.

In light of Trump’s record in power, Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat of California, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said he agreed with Slotkin.

“I agree with her a thousand percent,” Lieu said. “There was abuse.”

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Sen. Elissa Slotkin rehearses the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s speech during a joint session of Congress March 4, 2025 in Wyandotte, Michigan. (Paul Sancya – Piscine/Getty Images)

Other members said they were reluctant to abandon it altogether.

“In the past, we have had presidents who have used pardons very carefully,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Democrat of California. “We now find ourselves in an abnormal situation with a very rogue president who is unaccountable to either the American people or Congress.”

“I’m not trying to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think it’s a (power) that should be reserved because it’s been used with a lot of sincerity and thoughtfulness. We should be focused on removing this rogue president rather than removing the systems that have worked in the past.”

Kamlager-Dove cited President Joe Biden’s commutation of the sentence of Native American attorney Leonard Peltier as an example. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of two FBI agents in 1975, but was released from prison earlier this year.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, echoed Kamlager-Dove’s thoughts.

“I certainly think we need to analyze the systemic abuses that have taken place. At the same time, we need to maintain the power of leniency and mercy that traditionally rests with the executive branch,” Raskin said.

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Representative Jamie Raskin speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, September 17, 2025. (Annabelle Gordon/Reuters)

Although she would not support eliminating presidential pardons, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, another member of the Judiciary Committee, would favor limiting the power in some way. She acknowledged that any changes would require a constitutional amendment – ​​a long-term reform that would require supermajority agreement among lawmakers.

“In my mind, this is limited use,” Jayapal said. “It needs to be a lot more tapered, and I’m not sure you can make it that tapered – I’d prefer that to getting rid of it.”

Jayapal noted that the country had passed several constitutional amendments in the past.

Asked if presidential powers still serve any purpose, Lieu said he doesn’t know exactly, but he thinks their use has moved away from his original conception.

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“That’s certainly not the role he’s playing now, where Donald Trump is pardoning hardened criminals and his friends and allies — that’s not the vision of the authors of the pardon provision,” Lieu said.