President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before leaving the White House, Friday, February 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
represent. don bacon (R-Nebraska) on Monday signed on as co-sponsors of a Democratic-led bill that would amend the U.S. Constitution to give Congress oversight authority over presidential pardons, a move aimed at countering the president’s donald trump The use of the president’s pardon power is highly controversial.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Johnny Olszewski In December, Democrats in Maryland passed a bill that would allow at least 20 House members and five senators to call for congressional review of the pardons, which would result in a 60-day deadline for Congress to rescind the pardons with a two-thirds majority vote — similar to a veto.
Olszewski announced his bill, the Pardon Integrity Act, in a speech outlining some of Trump’s most controversial pardons, including a blanket pardon for all Jan. 6 rioters, including those who violently attacked police.
“None of us should think that the president, any president, is using the executive pardon power to pardon convicted drug lords, those convicted of violent attacks on law enforcement officers, or even money-laundering crypto giants with ties to the president’s family business,” Olszewski said in his speech. He added:
Yet, that’s exactly what President Trump did. On his first day in office, President Trump pardoned 1,500 people involved in the January 6 Capitol attack. Since then, he has pardoned or commuted the sentences of nearly 90 others. Just recently, he added that the former president of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez to that list. Hernandez is 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 taking bribes from members of a violent drug cartel to advance his political career and offering them immunity from prosecution in exchange for the bribes
Announcing Bacon’s inclusion in his bill, Olszewski wrote: “The Constitution does not give any president power above the law. I am proud Congressman Bacon joins this effort because defending democracy and delivering 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, common-sense check to ensure that the pardon power is used fairly and responsibly no matter who is in the White House,” he added.
Bacon, a former Air Force general who is not seeking re-election in a swing district, added: “Presidential pardons are an important constitutional power, but like all powers possessed by the executive branch, they benefit from the appropriate checks and balances envisioned by the Constitution. Over multiple administrations, we have seen legitimate questions about how this power is used while Congress’s ability to provide oversight has been diminished.”
Bacon concluded in a statement: “Frankly, it’s clear to me that the pardon power has been abused. I am pleased to co-sponsor Rep. Olszewski’s Pardon Integrity Act, a constitutional amendment that establishes narrow, common-sense guardrails that preserve the pardon power while ensuring that Congress can fulfill its constitutional duty to provide accountability and uphold the rule of law.” Bacon’s support for the measure comes after Trump pardoned several NFL players convicted of various crimes, including drug trafficking.
Bacon also supported a bipartisan bill that would return the power to impose tariffs to Congress and adhere to the original wording of the Constitution.
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