WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Republican senators say they do not agree with President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon and commute sentences for more than 1,500 people who assaulted police officers, broke into the building or committed other crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol four years ago.
But they aren’t pushing back on the decision.
“We’re not looking backwards, we’re looking forward,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, repeating his frequent response to questions about Trump’s promises of retribution from his first term.
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Thune did not say whether he supported or opposed the pardons, which rattled many on Capitol Hill who lived through the attack and fled the mob of Trump’s supporters as they violently broke into the building and halted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he would have preferred “a more surgical approach” to the pardons, looking at them case by case. “It’s not ideal in my mind,” Cramer said. “But I do think I understand the spirit of it, and I’m comfortable with it … hopefully we move forward now.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., agreed.
“It’s a hard one, because we work with them up here,” Tuberville said of the Capitol Police who were beaten by the rioters and guard lawmakers every day. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to get Jan. 6 behind us.”
Moving beyond the attack on the Capitol — and downplaying its violence — have become a central approach for congressional Republicans who have enthusiastically re-embraced Trump after his 2020 defeat and his attempts to overturn Biden’s win. And the muted GOP response to his sweeping pardons of both non-violent and violent Jan. 6 rioters was another display of their longtime strategy of praising Trump when they agree and ignoring him when they don’t.
“We’re looking forward and beyond on other policy issues,” said West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a member of Republican leadership.
The pardons, part of a flurry of executive orders on Trump’s first day in office, immediately upended what had become the largest prosecution in Justice Department history and freed criminals who brutally beat police and members of far-right extremist groups determined to stop Biden from assuming office. More than 100 police officers were injured. Some were never able to fully return to work.
Many prominent Republicans, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, had suggested that Trump would review the cases individually. But, as he had long promised, Trump’s actions were much more sweeping.
In defending Trump’s move, Republicans have also been able to point to Biden’s own flurry of preemptive pardons, including of his own family and House members who investigated the Jan. 6 attack, as he left office.
“How come everybody’s asking me about January 6th? Aren’t you going to ask me about the Biden pardons?” asked Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
“What we should be focusing on is the Biden pardons,” Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said angrily as reporters asked him about the clemency for Jan. 6 rioters.
Many Democrats said they disagreed with Biden’s actions, as well. Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said that he opposed the preemptive pardons, and was frustrated that they gave Trump “an argument — even though it’s a false argument — to pardon the Jan. 6 insurrectionists as well.”
A few Republicans said they agreed with Trump.
New Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno said that he appreciates Capitol Police officers, but “nobody’s been treated worse” than the rioters. Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis said she is “so glad those people are out of jail.”
More than 200 people convicted of Jan. 6 crimes were released from federal Bureau of Prisons custody by Tuesday morning, officials told The Associated Press.
A few Republican senators said they opposed the pardons, even as they appeared resigned to the idea. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he has an “honest disagreement” with the president over pardoning violent offenders. South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said he couldn’t defend them.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins said she had received a message from a police officer who sent her a video of his assault. “I don’t disagree with him at all,” she said. “People who committed violent crimes on January 6th, 2021, should not be pardoned.”
The pardons by both Trump and Biden “erodes public confidence,” she said.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was disappointed in the pardons, and pointed to a police officer who was guarding Republicans as they entered their weekly luncheon.
“I do fear the message that is sent to these great men and women that stood by us,” Murkowski said.
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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Lisa Mascaro and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.
