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) — There was no drama on Monday as Kamala Harris oversaw the ceremonial certification of her defeat to Donald Trump. The vice president kept her remarks perfunctory, and she stood with her hands clasped in front of her while the results from each state were read out loud.

After less than a half hour, she formally announced that Trump had won the election. She smiled tightly as Republicans applauded.

“The chair declares this joint session resolved,” Harris said. “Thank you.”

The process was vastly different than four years ago, when Trump's supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were certifying his defeat to Joe Biden. This time, everyone honored the results of the election.

“It’s a peaceful transfer of power,” Harris told reporters as she left the building on Monday. “It’s a good day.”

But the proceedings were still a bitter task for Harris. Instead of ascending to the White House as the country's first female president, she oversaw the constitutional machinery that will return Trump to power.

By doing so, Harris joined a short list of predecessors who played the same role as vice president, who presides over the Senate.

Richard Nixon did it after losing to John F. Kennedy in 1960. Al Gore followed suit when the U.S. Supreme Court tipped the 2000 election to George W. Bush.

However, no other vice president has been holding the gavel when Congress certified their loss to an incoming president who refused to concede a previous defeat. In addition to spreading lies about voter fraud, Trump directed his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The rioters attacked police officers, breached the building's security and sent lawmakers running to safety.

Harris was at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington that day. A pipe bomb was discovered nearby, and she was evacuated from the building.

During the campaign, she frequently invoked the Jan. 6 attack to warn voters of the danger of returning Trump to the White House. She described him as a “petty tyrant” and “wannabe dictator.”

After Harris lost the election, she promised in her concession speech to honor the will of voters.

“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” she said. “That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny.”

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump's transition team and the incoming White House press secretary, said there will be “a smooth transition of power.”

“When Kamala Harris certifies the election results, President Trump will deliver on his promise to serve ALL Americans and will unify the country through success,” she said in a statement.

Leavitt did not respond to a question about Trump's attempt to use the certification process to overturn his defeat four years ago. At that time, Trump encouraged his vice president, Mike Pence, to disqualify votes from battleground states based on false allegations of fraud.

Pence refused. Trump's supporters burst into the Capitol and halted the proceedings, forcing lawmakers to hide for their safety. Trump posted on social media that “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”

Police eventually cleared the rioters from the building, and lawmakers reconvened to finish their certification. Scores of Republicans still voted to support challenges to the election result.

“I had no right to overturn the election," Pence said two years later. "And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

Trump faced criminal charges for trying to stay in power despite losing. However, special counsel Jack Smith dropped the federal case against him after Trump defeated Harris since long-standing Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution.

A separate case in Georgia over Trump's attempts to subvert the 2020 election is mired in controversy over the Fulton County district attorney's romantic relationship with a prosecutor she hired to lead the case.

The most recent example of a vice president certifying their own defeat came after the 2000 election. The battle between Gore and Bush ended up in the courtroom as the campaigns argued over whether Florida should conduct a recount.

Bush won at the U.S. Supreme Court, preventing a recount and allowing his narrow victory to stand.

Congress certified the results on Jan. 6, 2001, over the objections of some Democrats.

“I rise to object to the fraudulent 25 Florida electoral votes,” Rep. Maxine Waters of California said at the time.

Gore slammed the gavel and asked whether the objection met the requirements of being “in writing and signed by a member of the House and a senator.”

“The objection is in writing, and I don't care that it's not signed by a member of the Senate,” Waters responded.

“The chair will advise that the rules do care,” Gore said.

After a few rounds of objections, Congress finished the certification.

″May God bless our new president and new vice president and may God bless the United States of America," Gore said after announcing the results.

Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation.

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Matt Brown contributed to this report.

Vice President Kamala Harris reads the results as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listens during a joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Vice President Kamala Harris walks to speak with reporters after presiding over a joint session of congress to confirm the Electoral College votes at the Capitol, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Vice President Kamala Harris talks to reporters after presiding over a joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College votes at the Capitol, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Vice President Kamala Harris talks to reporters after presiding over a joint session of congress to confirm the Electoral College votes at the Capitol, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listen as Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., reads a certification during a joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Vice President Kamala Harris hands the certification for Virginia to teller Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., during joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Vice President Kamala Harris is handed a certification as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., watches while teller Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., stands at the clerk's podium as a joint session of Congress convenes to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Vice President Kamala Harris reads the results as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listens during a joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Vice President Kamala Harris, right, walks through Statuary Hall to the House Chamber before a joint session of Congress convenes to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Vice President Kamala Harris is handed a certification as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., watches while teller Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., stands at the clerk's podium as a joint session of Congress convenes to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FILE - Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., lower left, objects to Florida's electoral vote count results, as Vice President Al Gore, standing, top center, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., seated, top right, listen on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2001. Other members present, seated at left in middle row are: Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Chris Dodd, D-Ct, hand over mouth., Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., standing at podium and Rep. William Thomas, R-Calif. Others not identified. (AP Photo/Kenneth Lambert, File)

FILE - Vice President Mike Pence returns to the House chamber after midnight, Jan. 7, 2021, to finish the work of the Electoral College after a mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington and disrupted the process. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Nov. 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)