Biden commutes sentences for 1,500, pardons 39 convicted of non-violent crimes
(Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said Thursday that he was pardoning 39 people who were convicted of non-violent crimes and was commuting the sentences of 1,500 people on home confinement, who he said have “shown successful rehabilitation and have shown commitment to making their communities stronger and safer.”
The White House described the actions as the “largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history.”
“These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance,” Biden said in a statement.
According to the White House fact sheet, some of those getting clemency on Thursday include a military veteran who spends time helping church members in poor health, a nurse who has helped in emergency response and an addiction counselor who volunteers to help young people.
The White House hinted that this isn’t the last of Biden’s pardons during his final months in office, saying that “in the coming weeks, the President will take additional steps to provide meaningful second chances and continue to review additional pardons and commutations.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Judiciary Committee will see a changing of the guard in the 119th Congress with a new Democratic leader.
Rep. Jerry Nadler announced Wednesday that he would not run to be the top Democrat on the committee, which he has been for the last seven years.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D- Md., announced plans Monday to challenge Nadler for the leadership spot. Nadler, 77, endorsed Raskin, 61, in a letter to his colleagues.
“As our country faces the return of Donald Trump, and the renewed threats to our democracy and our way of life that he represents, I am very confident that Jamie would ably lead the Judiciary Committee as we confront this growing danger,” he wrote.
Raskin did not immediately comment on Nadler’s decision.
The Maryland congressman’s challenge came as Democrats worried that Nadler was not vigorous enough to match the Republican committee chair, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.
Raskin is the former chair of the House Oversight Committee, a constitutional scholar and also sat on the Jan. 6th Committee. He was also the lead manager for Trump’s second impeachment over the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Raskin said in a letter to colleagues that the Judiciary Committee “will be the headquarters of Congressional opposition to authoritarianism and MAGA’s campaign to dismantle our Constitutional system and the rule of law as we know it.”
Raskin was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2010 and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in 2022 and underwent chemotherapy for both diagnoses and surgery for the former. Last year, Raskin said the cancer was in remission.
The congressman noted his cancer survival in his letter to colleagues.
“I hope to be at the center of this fight and — as someone who has battled cancer and chemotherapy — I can tell you that I will never, never surrender,” he wrote.
Nadler, who plans on staying on the committee, also praised Raskin.
“I am also proud that, under my leadership, some of our caucus’s most talented rising stars have been given a platform to demonstrate their leadership and their abilities,” he wrote. “That includes Jamie Raskin, who in just a few terms in Congress has already proven himself to be an exceptional leader and spokesperson for our party’s values.
(WASHINGTON) — The official portrait of first lady Melania Trump was unveiled by the White House on Monday.
The image, released in black and white, was taken in the residence by photographer Régine Mahaux.
The first lady’s office confirmed the photo was taken on Jan. 21, 2025, though the initial release mistakenly said it was taken in 2024.
The portraits of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were released earlier this month ahead of the inauguration. Those images were put out by the transition team.
Melania Trump attended the inaugural events, and made a statement with her style choices. She first wore a navy and ivory ensemble, complete with a hat, from American designer Adam Lippes for the swearing-in ceremony. For the evening’s inaugural balls, she donned a black-and-white gown designed by her longtime stylist Herve Pierre.
She also joined President Trump as he surveyed hurricane damage in North Carolina last Friday.
The two celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last week. President Trump took to his social media platform to wish her a happy anniversary.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump is making good on his tariff promises, saying Monday he plans to impose them on Mexico, Canada and China in an effort to stop the flow of drugs entering the country and illegal border crossings.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that one of the first executive orders he will sign when he takes office on Jan. 20, 2025, will be to charge Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price.” Trump posted.
Canada’s deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, and public safety minister, Dominic LeBlanc, released a joint statement on the proposed tariffs Monday, saying, “Canada and the United States have one of the strongest and closest relationships – particularly when it comes to trade and border security. Canada places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of our shared border.”
The officials noted that Canada buys more from the U.S than China, Japan, France and the U.K. combined.
“Canada is essential to US domestic energy supply, and last year 60 percent of US crude oil imports originated in Canada,” Freeland and LeBlanc said in the statement on X.
In another post, Trump said that he will be charging China with an additional 10% tariff on top of any additional tariffs on products coming into the U.S., arguing the country wasn’t doing enough to stop the flow of illicit drugs.
“Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before,” Trump claimed.
During the presidential campaign, Trump proposed tariffs of between 60% and 100% on Chinese goods, and a tax of between 10% and 20% on every product imported from all U.S. trading partners.
The day before the election, Trump told a rally in Pittsburgh, “I’m putting tariffs on Mexico. Every damn thing that they sell into the United States has got to have like a 25% tariff until they stop drugs from coming in.”
Economists widely forecast that tariffs of this magnitude would increase prices paid by U.S. shoppers, since importers typically pass along a share of the cost of those higher taxes to consumers.
Trump’s tariffs would cost the average U.S. household about $2,600 per year, according to an estimate from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Raymond Robertson, professor for trade, economics and public policy at Texas A&M University, told ABC News Trump’s plan will not be as effective because countries know what’s coming.
“This is more likely a play designed to put pressure on our closest trading partners,” Robertson said. “But this is the same playbook done the second time around. If you’re on the football field and you call the same play twice, it’s not going to be as effective the second time.”
Robertson added that countries know this would be “disruptive” and a “disaster,” but they’ve “seen how this game works.” Robertson says our trading partners could seek closer ties to Europe and other countries and rely less on the U.S., “which means higher prices for us.”
-ABC News’ Max Zahn and Selina Wang contributed to this report.
