Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons split the GOP: From the Politics Desk

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In today’s edition, we break down how members of his party are reacting to his sweeping pardons of Jan. 6 defendants. Plus, Steve Kornacki takes a historical look at the position JD Vance now finds himself in: the vice president to a president who can’t seek another term.

— Adam Wollner

Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons split the GOP

Of all the executive orders President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office, the one that reverberated the most across Washington was his move to pardon Jan. 6 rioters.  

With the stroke of a pen, Trump issued pardons to roughly 1,500 criminal defendants and commuted the sentences of 14 others in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He also ordered the dismissals of hundreds of cases that were still being prosecuted.

As Scott Wong, Frank Thorp V, Kate Santaliz and Katie Taylor report, the Jan. 6 pardons drew pushback from a handful of Republican senators. They quickly found themselves back in the spot they were often in a few years ago: responding to Trump’s latest action or comment. 

The reactions generally fell into four camps. 

There those who were outwardly critical of the Jan. 6 pardons, particularly for people who were convicted of committing violence against police officers. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she was “disappointed” by Trump’s move and worried about the message it sent to the officers who defended the Capitol that day.  

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said “I just can’t agree” with Trump’s pardons. 

There were those who did not vocally criticize Trump but declined to support the decision. “The president made that decision. You’ll have to ask him. I will not defend it,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said that if he were president he would not have offered pardons to people who committed violence on Jan. 6, but he added that Trump followed through on his campaign promise.

There were those who brushed aside the questions and tried to turn the focus to Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his family in his last minutes as president.  

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he is “looking forward to the next four years, not the last four,” when he was pressed about Trump’s decision.

“Would you guys ask the same questions of Biden?” Thune said when he was asked what message it sends to officers who were attacked that day. 

And then there were those who celebrated the pardons. Some members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, such as Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, went to a Washington jail where Jan. 6 inmates were being released. 

What Trump is saying: He defended the Jan. 6 pardons during a news conference Tuesday, Katherine Doyle reports. 

“They’ve served years in jail,” Trump said in response to questions from reporters at the White House on why he pardoned violent offenders. “They should not have served, and they’ve served years in jail. And murderers don’t even go to jail in this country.”

What current and former prosecutors are saying: People in the Justice Department and legal scholars are calling the move an unprecedented and dangerous use of the pardon power that dealt a crushing blow not just to federal law enforcement, but to the U.S. justice system, as Ken Dilanian and Ryan J. Reilly report. 

“I don’t think that’s OK,” Jason Manning, who spent years as a line prosecutor working on Jan. 6 cases in Washington, told NBC News in an exclusive interview. “I find the pardons appalling.”

What to know from Day 2 of the Trump presidency

Beyond the fallout from the Jan. 6 pardons, Day 2 of Trump’s tenure again brought a flurry of news. Here are the top lines:

• Trump announced a joint venture with OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank to invest billions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.
• Trump met with congressional Republicans at the White House, where they discussed their legislative strategy and the possibility of using recess appointments to confirm Cabinet nominees. 
• Democratic attorneys general filed lawsuits seeking to block Trump’s attempt to revoke the right to automatic birthright citizenship. It’s one of several executive actions that are likely to face pushback from the courts. 
• The Department of Homeland Security announced it is rescinding the restrictions that kept Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from conducting arrests in “sensitive locations,” such as schools, churches or day care centers, even during weddings or funerals, as NBC News reported the new administration had planned.
• The Trump administration fired four top officials at the Justice Department’s Executive Office of Immigration Review, which oversees U.S. immigration courts. 
• The bishop leading the inaugural prayer service Tuesday urged Trump to “have mercy” on his constituents, specifically naming LGBTQ people and immigrants.

Vance takes on a unique role as a second-term VP

When he was sworn in Monday, JD Vance instantly assumed a unique perch on the political stage: as the vice president to a term-limited president.

Rather than waiting eight years (and spending the next four promoting his boss’ re-election efforts), Vance enters office with the 2028 Republican presidential nomination wide open. It’s a position that six previous vice presidents have enjoyed since the enactment of the 22nd Amendment, which capped presidential service at two terms.

All but one of those six nursed presidential ambitions of their own, though only three actually managed to secure their party’s next nomination — with just one, George H.W. Bush in 1988, winning the presidency.