White House officials are considering a plan for President Donald Trump to issue 250 pardons to mark 250 years since America’s independence this summer.
That’s according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. It said the president could make the announcement on June 14, his own 80th birthday.
The plan is still in its preliminary discussions, but Trump has already shown he’s willing to exercise the presidential pardon power liberally since returning to office.
A White House official told the Daily Beast that while there are ongoing policy conversations about how best to act on the president’s priorities, no decisions have been made, nor has any action been taken.
Trump would be the ultimate decider on any clemency-related actions.
Some familiar with the matter have raised concerns with the WSJ about the president issuing too many more pardons before the midterm elections this November.
The president has been obsessing over the 250th anniversary of America’s founding this year.
He has scrambled to make renovations throughout Washington, DC, ahead of the 4th of July, including repairing the fountains around the city and renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, with the surface being turned “American flag blue.”
The president has touted a massive UFC fight at the White House on June 14 and the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, with IndyCar racing around the U.S. Capitol, taking place this August.
Trump is pushing to leave his own mark on Washington by pushing a massive 250-foot arch to be built just across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial, near Arlington National Cemetery.
There is also the demand for a National Garden of American Heroes featuring figures of U.S. presidents and other American icons.
But the president has already faced criticism for the widespread pardons he has issued since returning to office.
Trump granted clemency to nearly 1,600 individuals who were convicted of crimes related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Some of them went on to be convicted of new crimes since receiving the sweeping pardons.
The president has also pardoned a series of wealthy people convicted of financial crimes.
Just one year into his second term, Trump has pardoned an unusually high number of wealthy people accused of financial crimes such as fraud, money laundering, and insider trading.
Some of those pardoned have been tied back to massive donations made to Trump’s political committees.
Trevor Milton, who was convicted of fraud, was granted a pardon after he and his wife each donated $900,000 to Trump committees. Tax cheat Paul Walczak received a pardon just weeks after his mom attended a Trump fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump himself was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May 2024 while he was running for a second term. He and the Trump Organization were also found civilly liable in a New York fraud case.
There have also been reports that Trump is considering sweeping pardons for members of his administration to shield them from facing consequences for unlawful actions that may have been taken while Trump was in office.
Trump is not the first president to face criticism of his pardons. President Joe Biden pardoned his own son, Hunter Biden, before leaving office.
