Lawmakers brace for Trump's promised Jan. 6 pardons. Some are urging restraint

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has a new focus as lawmakers brace for the prospect that President-elect Donald Trump may soon pardon many of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes for their actions related to the riot.

Trump said he would issue pardons to rioters on “Day 1” of his presidency, which begins Jan. 20. “Most likely, I’ll do it very quickly,” he said recently on NBC's “Meet the Press.” He added that “those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to it. I have to look. But, you know, if somebody was radical, crazy.”

His promise, made throughout his campaign for the White House, is shadowing events Monday as lawmakers gather to certify a presidential election for the first time since 2021, when Trump’s supporters breached the Capitol and temporarily halted the certification of an election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she has spoken at length with Trump and is lobbying him to pardon everyone who participated in the siege. Few Republicans are going that far, but many believe it’s appropriate for Trump to look at pardons on a case-by-case basis.

“Here we are nearly four years later. Many of these people have been in prison since 2021. Even the ones that fought Capitol Police, caused damage to the Capitol, I think they’ve served their time and I think they should all be pardoned and released from prison," Greene said. "Some of these people have been given prison sentences: 10 years, 18 years and more. I think it’s an injustice. It’s a two-tiered justice system, and it’s time to end it.”

More than 1,250 have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials in connection with Jan. 6, with more than 650 receiving prison time ranging from a few days to 22 years.

Many of those who broke into the Capitol were echoing Trump’s false claims about election fraud. Some rioters menacingly called out the names of prominent politicians — particularly then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and then-Vice President Mike Pence, who refused to try to object to Biden’s win. Lawmakers who had evacuated both chambers on Jan. 6 returned that night to finish their work.

Police officers who defended the Capitol are particularly incensed about the possible pardons. Many officers were beaten, some with their own weapons, as they tried to hold back the mob. About 140 officers were injured on Jan. 6, making it “likely the largest single day mass assault of law enforcement” in American history, Matthew Graves, the outgoing U.S. attorney in the nation's capital, has said.

“You cannot be pro-police officer and rule of law if you are pardoning people who betrayed that trust, injured police officers and ransacked the Capitol,” said Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who retired due to his injuries after fighting rioters.

Some Republicans in Congress, even those closely aligned with Trump, suggested not all Jan. 6 offenders should be treated the same.

Rep. Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally who leads the House Judiciary Committee, said he supported some pardons, but also made a distinction.

“For people who didn’t commit any violence, I think everyone supports that. I think that makes sense,” said Jordan, R-Ohio.

Veteran Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., also wasn't ready to go as far as Greene. "You've got to look at it individually. Some probably deserve to be pardoned,” he said.

But he was more reticent when asked if those who attacked U.S. Capitol police officers should be among those pardoned.

“My goodness. Again, I'd have to look at the scenario,” he said. “But if they attacked the U.S. Capitol Police, it's a big problem.”

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said not every single charge is the same and that people who were trespassing are a different category from those who entered the Capitol and damaged property. He said he believes Trump will look at each individual circumstance and decide what is appropriate.

“People who attacked police officers, listen, I don't think that is something we should ever condone,” Johnson said.

House Democrats, who led the drive to impeach Trump over Jan. 6 and conducted a wide-ranging investigation into the attack, warned that the pardons could have far-reaching consequences, both for the rule of law and the security of the country. Members of the extremist Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, for instance, were convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes in relation to the insurrection.

“Those 140-odd law enforcement people who got hurt defending this institution, I think anyone who loves peace and security would be offended that you would pardon people who attacked those individuals for doing their jobs,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.

Thompson led the House committee that investigated the events surrounding Jan. 6, concluding with a report that said Trump “lit the fire" for the insurrection.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who served as lead impeachment manager during Trump's second impeachment trial in which he was acquitted, said if pardons are going to happen, people should demand contrition and repentance from each of those pardoned and an affirmative statement they pose no further threat to public safety.

“Because anything that happens by these people, in a political context or some other context, will essentially be laid at the doorstep soon-to-be President Donald Trump,” Raskin said.

Like police officers who protected them, lawmakers who were in the Capitol during the attack have a visceral reaction to the pardon talk, having barely escaped a mob that seemed determined to do them harm.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who was trapped in the House gallery as rioters tried to break in below, said it would be “extraordinarily difficult” for him and many others if Trump goes ahead with the pardons.

“I’m pretty controlled and pretty disciplined, but that would be really hard,” Himes said. “Too many of us had very personal experiences with the people who are serving time or were convicted.”

Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

FILE - U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, left, and Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges listen as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - A flag hangs between broken windows after then-President Donald Trump supporters tried to break through police barriers outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

FILE - Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

FILE - Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, talks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a hearing, June 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., talks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Jan. 10, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

FILE - Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., questions witnesses during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., speaks with The Associated Press about his new role on the House Intelligence Committee, in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., asks questions during a hearing, May 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP, File)

FILE - Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., talks to reporters at the Capitol, Dec. 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

FILE - Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has abruptly fired the director of the National Security Agency, according to U.S. officials and members of Congress, but the White House and the Pentagon have provided no reasons for the move.

Senior military leaders were informed Thursday of the firing of Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, who also oversaw the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, the officials said. They received no advance notice about the decision to remove a four-star general with a 33-year career in intelligence and cyber operations, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel decisions.

The move has triggered sharp criticism from members of Congress. And it marks the latest dismissal of national security officials by Trump at a time when his Republican administration faces criticism over his failure to take any action against other key leaders' use of the Signal messaging app to discuss plans for a military strike. It's unclear who now is in charge of the NSA and the Cyber Command.

Also fired was Haugh's civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble.

The NSA notified congressional leadership and top lawmakers of the national security committees of the firing late Wednesday but did not give reasons, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the matter.

The White House did not respond to messages seeking comment. The NSA referred questions about Haugh to the Defense Department, which had no comment Friday.

Far-right activist and commentator Laura Loomer appeared to take credit Friday in a post on X, saying she raised concerns to Trump about Haugh’s ties to Gen. Mark Milley and the Biden administration and questioned the NSA chief's loyalty to the president. Milley served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first term but has since become an outspoken critic.

“Given the fact that the NSA is arguably the most powerful intel agency in the world, we cannot allow for a Biden nominee to hold that position,” Loomer wrote. “Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers.”

Loomer, who has claimed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were an “inside job,” had discussed staff loyalty with Trump in an Oval Office meeting Wednesday, according to several people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel manner. A day later, Trump said he fired “some” White House National Security Council officials.

Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said Friday that he has “long warned about the dangers of firing military officers as a political loyalty test.”

"In addition to the other military leaders and national security officials Trump has fired, he is sending a chilling message throughout the ranks: don’t give your best military advice, or you may face consequences,” Reed said in a statement.

He added that Trump “has given a priceless gift to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea by purging competence from our national security leadership.”

Another Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the U.S. was “facing unprecedented cyber threats” and asked how firing Haugh, who has served in the military for 30 years, makes American safer.

Trump hasn't commented on Haugh or Noble, but on Thursday he dismissed the National Security Council firings as normal.

“Always we’re letting go of people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he made his way to Miami on Thursday afternoon. “People that we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.”

The firings come as Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, fights calls for his ouster after using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for a sensitive March 15 military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen.

Warner called it “astonishing” that Trump "would fire the nonpartisan, experienced leader of the National Security Agency while still failing to hold any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on a commercial messaging app — even as he apparently takes staffing direction on national security from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office.”

Haugh met last month with Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency has roiled the federal government by slashing personnel and budgets at dozens of agencies. In a statement, the NSA said the meeting was intended to ensure both organizations are “aligned” with the new administration’s priorities.

Haugh had led both the NSA and Cyber Command since 2023. Both departments play leading roles in the nation’s cybersecurity. The NSA also supports the military and other national security agencies by collecting and analyzing a vast amount of data and information globally.

Cyber Command is known as America’s first line of defense in cyberspace and also plans offensive cyberoperations for potential use against adversaries.

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, David Klepper and Lou Kesten in Washington contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump, center, arrives on Air Force One at Miami International Airport, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)