A group of Democrats are pushing to curb the president's pardoning powers by amending the US Constitution, warning the system has 'reached a breaking point' following President Donald Trump's flurry of controversial clemencies, including releasing approximately 1,500 January 6 defendants.
California Democrat Mike Levin announced on X that he is co-sponsoring a constitutional amendment '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 move comes after Trump, on the day he took office in January 2025, issued mass clemency to nearly all his supporters convicted of federal offences related to the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.
'A Breaking Point'
The proposal was sponsored by Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen and co-sponsored by
'The presidential pardon has reached a breaking point', Levin said in a video on X. 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'.
Roughly 1,600 people faced charges over the Capitol attack, and the Department of Justice secured guilty pleas or convictions for more than 1,200 of them. About 200 pleaded guilty to felonies that included assaulting officers, and more than 200 others were convicted in trials of offences that included attacking law enforcement.
Other Controversial Pardons
In October, Trump commuted former New York Republican representative George Santos' fraud sentence. He had pleaded guilty in August 2024 to multiple counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and campaign finance violations, admitting to using campaign funds to buy luxury products.
Trump also pardoned Changpeng Zhao in October, who pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering in 2023 as part of a $4.3 billion settlement Binance reached with the DOJ. The pardon came two months after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump family's own crypto venture, which has generated about $4.5 billion since the 2024 election, has been helped by Binance.
A $1.3 Billion Cost to Victims
A 17 June 2025 analysis by House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff found that Trump's pardons 'will deprive victims and survivors of crime of $1.3 billion in restitution and fines owed to them and American taxpayers', according to the committee's official press release. The figure represents money that would have been paid in restitution, fines and forfeitures to victims and the government had the pardons not been granted.
The presidential pardon system is broken.
— Rep. Mike Levin (@RepMikeLevin) December 30, 2025
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.
That’s why I support a constitutional amendment to put commonsense limits in place: no… pic.twitter.com/ngNU1bCGzI
Steep Odds for Amendment
A constitutional amendment would need approval from a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to go ahead, followed by ratification by three-quarters of state legislatures. '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', Levin wrote on X.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek that 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'. The proposed amendment faces steep odds, but its introduction signals growing concern amongst Democrats about what they see as abuse of executive power.
