Leading Republicans wrongfooted by Trump’s sweeping January 6 pardons
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JD Vance, Mike Johnson and others had said those guilty of violence would be excluded before president changed tack. Donald Trump’s allies have been forced to perform political summersaults over his pardons for more than 1,500 rioters convicted of attacking the US Capitol after saying beforehand that no clemency would be shown to those guilty of violence or attacking police officers.
The inauguration day pardons also threatened to trigger a revolt among Republican senators, several of whom bluntly condemned them without extending the criticism to Trump himself. They prompted a bout of hurried backtracking from close cohorts, namely Vice-President JD Vance, Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the newly confirmed secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
All three were left exposed by previous comments that either condemned the 6 January 2021 insurrection – which was aimed at keeping Trump in office after his 2020 election defeat – or offered assurances that pardons would not cover violent offenders.
Trump had repeatedly vowed to pardon offenders convicted of involvement as one of his first acts on returning to office – calling them “hostages” and “political prisoners” on the campaign trail. However, it was broadly assumed that clemency would be awarded only to so-called “peaceful protesters” and not those convicted of violent assault.
