Trump makes Republican senators squirm with January 6 pardons

Some Republican senators are criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to grant clemency to the 1,500 rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“No one should excuse violence,” Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell told Semafor this week. “And particularly violence against police officers.”

The rioters stormed the Capitol to try to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump falsely claimed was rigged against him. The rioters broke windows and assaulted police officers. Some carried firearms and zip ties.

Trump hinted at sweeping pardons for the rioters through his 2024 presidential campaign, but was often vague about the details. Vice President J.D. Vance said in November that there would be no pardons for violent offenders. Pam Bondi, who Trump appointed to be attorney general, said this month that pardons should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

According to Axios, Trump was planning a more piecemeal approach to giving clemency, but decided at the last minute to grant pardons and commuted sentences to every single rioter.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2026, echoed McConnell’s concerns.

“[Pardoning] many of them was probably the right thing to do,” Tillis told Spectrum News, “But anyone who was convicted of assault on a police officer — I just can’t get there at all.”

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who is also up for reelection in two years, was even starker in her condemnation.

“I do not support pardons given to people who engaged in violence on January 6, including assaulting police officers, or breaking windows to get into the Capitol,” Collins said in a statement.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was “disappointed” by Trump’s decision. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy told CNN that if rioters “do the crime, they should do the time.”

These rebukes mark one of the first major rifts between Trump and Republican lawmakers since his election victory.

Trump’s move risks alienating voters as well. An AP-NORC poll from earlier this month found that only 20% of American adults support pardoning the rioters. Among Republicans, it’s 40%.

Michael Fanone, a Capitol police officer who was hospitalized following the Jan. 6 attack, told CNN on Tuesday that he felt “betrayed” by Trump’s decision.

“Six individuals who assaulted me as I did my job on Jan. 6 — as did hundreds of other law enforcement officers — will now walk free,” Fanone said.