President Donald Trump has pardoned or granted clemency to 12 current or former House members throughout both terms, serving as an unusually extensive use of commutation power for legislators.
The president’s most recent use of his clemency powers was for Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), the only one of the 12 who had not been convicted yet, after he was indicted on corruption charges during the Biden administration.
Trump cited the Biden administration weaponizing “the Justice System against their Political Opponents,” as the reason for his pardon, going on to say that the Texas Democrat was just “speaking the TRUTH” against open borders. Cuellar filed for reelection as a Democrat after the announcement.
TRUMP PARDONS DEMOCRATIC REP. HENRY CUELLAR
The president criticized Cuellar’s decision to run as a Democrat, calling it a “lack of loyalty.” Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee voted earlier this month to reinstate the Texas Democrat to his role as the ranking member of the panel’s Homeland Security subcommittee following the rules of the caucus that state if “the charges are dismissed,” then the member can return to their role.
Trump has used his clemency powers for ten Republicans and two Democrats. Seven were in his first term, and there have been four thus far in his second term. Ten were full pardons, with the other two being sentence commutations.
“Having spent years arguing he was targeted by lawfare, Trump is naturally inclined to view convicted politicians through a more sympathetic lens,” Republican Strategist Dennis Lennox told the Washington Examiner.
The last president to use his commutation power for a member of Congress was former President Bill Clinton, who pardoned one former Democratic member in 2000 and commuted a federal prison sentence for another former Democratic member. Clinton pardoned former Illinois Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, who had pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud charges tied to a House Post Office scandal.
The two other uses of the president’s power for current or former members of Congress this term were a commutation of former New York Republican Rep. George Santos’s sentence in October, in which he was subsequently released, and a pardon of former New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm, who was convicted of tax fraud.
Santos’s pardon was high-profile after he became a well-known member of Congress during his short stint in Washington. The congressman used his X profile to ask for pardons, where he also blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for blocking his pardon as he headed to prison.
“Speaker Johnson blocked it,” Santos wrote.
Santos was expelled from Congress in 2023 by his colleagues following a slew of federal charges for which he was sentenced to serve nearly seven years, but was released after about three months. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY), one of the first to call for his expulsion, publicly criticized his release.
“George Santos didn’t merely lie — he stole millions, defrauded an election, and his crimes (for which he pled guilty) warrant more than a three-month sentence,” LaLota wrote on X. “He should devote the rest of his life to demonstrating remorse and making restitution to those he wronged.”
Trump made many of these pardons around the end of his first term, with three in the weeks leading up to former President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Former Republican Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi, former North Carolina Republican Rep. Robin Hayes, and former California Republican Rep. Duke Cunningham were all pardoned in January 2021.
Renzi was pardoned for his charges of extortion and corruption, Hayes was pardoned for a bribery-related case, and Cunningham was issued a conditional pardon for a bribery conviction.
Four came in December 2020 when the president pardoned former Republican Michigan Rep. Mark Siljander, Republican California Rep. Duncan Hunter, and Republican New York Rep. Chris Collins, and commuted the sentence of former Republican Texas Rep. Steve Stockman.
In February 2025, Trump pardoned former Democratic Rep. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on federal corruption charges. Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence was initially commuted by Trump in 2020, releasing the former Illinois governor from prison after eight years.
Siljander was pardoned for acting as an unregistered foreign agent; Stockman was commuted of his sentence for misuse of charity and campaign funds; Hunter was pardoned for misuse of campaign funds, and Collins was pardoned for an insider trading conviction.
Of these 12, three were pardoned while they were serving in Congress — Cuellar, Collins, and Hunter.
HOUSE LAWMAKERS REFLECT ON THEIR MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN CONGRESS
Granting clemency for political figures is often criticized for ethical and institutional concerns, as public trust in Washington is at one of its lowest points in history.
“At a time when most Americans view Congress as corrupt, these commutations reinforce — rather than repair — cynicism about Washington,” Lennox said.