Politics
Biden sets record with first-term clemency grants, here's how others presidents rank
President Biden made history last week when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 prisoners and pardoned another 39 people – sparking mixed reactions from lawmakers, including Democrats, who noted that his actions far outpace the clemency actions of any other U.S. president serving his first term in office.
In a statement last week announcing the new clemency actions, Biden said America “was built on the promise of possibility and second chances.”
“As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for nonviolent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses,” Biden said.
Biden’s lengthy list sparked mixed reaction from some lawmakers and criminal justice reform advocates, who questioned the administration’s decision-making in determining prisoners that were eligible for clemency.
BIDEN CLEMENCY ANNOUNCEMENT GETS MIXED REVIEWS ON CAPITOL HILL: ‘WHERE’S THE BAR?’
The Biden administration told CNN that the decisions on who could be included were not made on an individual basis, but rather, was a “uniform” decision granted to people with a record of good behavior while on house arrest.
That includes former Illinois city comptroller Rita Crundwell, who, in 2012, pleaded guilty to a nearly $55 million embezzlement scheme, and former Pennsylvania judge Michael Conahan, who was convicted in 2011 for his role in a “Kids-for-Cash” scheme, in which children were sent to for-profit detention centers in return for millions of dollars of kickbacks from the private prisons.
A full list of individuals included in Biden’s most recent clemency action can be found on the Justice Department website. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on its decision-making in issuing presidential pardons.
Biden’s decision to include Conahan on his list of prisoners granted clemency was sharply criticized Friday by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who had been considered on Vice President Kamala Harris’ short-list for running mate earlier this year.
Shapiro said Friday he thinks Biden got it “absolutely wrong” in granting clemency to Conahan, saying the decision has “created a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania.”
“Some children took their lives because of this. Families were torn apart,” Shapiro said of the for-profit detention center scandal.
BIDEN STIRS OUTRAGE IN SCRANTON BY COMMUTING ‘KIDS FOR CASH’ JUDGE’S SENTENCE
Joe and son Hunter Biden taking a walk. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Before leaving office in 2017, President Barack Obama granted clemency to 1,927 individuals during his two terms as president – the highest total of any modern president going back to former president Harry Truman, also a Democrat, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Justice Department data.
Truman, who served as president from 1945 to 1953, granted clemency to 2,044 individuals during his two terms in office – slightly outpacing Obama’s list.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected president four times, granted a total of 3,687 pardons, sentence commutations and other acts of clemency during his time in the White House. After Roosevelt died in office during his fourth term, the U.S. Constitution was ratified to limit all future presidents to two terms in office.
Others noted the differences between individuals included on Biden’s clemency list and those who saw reduced or pardoned sentences under Obama.
The vast majority of Obama’s clemency actions focused on commuting the sentences of federal inmates who met certain criteria outlined under his administration’s Clemency Initiative, a program that ended in 2017 when Trump took office.
But critics have noted the stark differences between the number of individuals selected for clemency under each president – and any relationship to a sitting commander in chief.
During his presidency, Barack Obama granted clemency to 1,927 individuals. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Obama administration, for example, largely focused its commutations and reductions on nonviolent drug offenders, including many who had been sentenced under mandatory minimum sentencing laws passed by Congress in the late 1980s.
These clemency grants came under sharp criticism by some Republicans, who accused Obama of imposing his political will to end certain mandatory minimum sentences – which many argued at the time minimized the “lawmaking authority” of Congress.
But Biden’s clemency grants also far outpace his predecessor, Donald Trump, during his first term in office.
Between 2017 and 2021, Trump granted just 143 pardons and 93 sentence commutations – amounting to just 2% of the clemency applications that his administration received, according to available Justice Department data.
Some noted that the individuals selected for clemency during Trump’s first term also appear to bear a very different list of criteria compared to former presidents.
An analysis conducted by Lawfare found that 29 of the 34 pardons granted by Trump were not based on recommendations of the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Such recommendations are not necessary for clemency, but presidents in recent memory have relied on the DOJ for input into worthy recipients for pardons and commutations.
Politics
Video: Minnesota and Illinois Sue Trump Administration Over ICE Deployments
new video loaded: Minnesota and Illinois Sue Trump Administration Over ICE Deployments
transcript
transcript
Minnesota and Illinois Sue Trump Administration Over ICE Deployments
Minnesota and Illinois filed federal lawsuits against the Trump administration, claiming that the deployment of immigration agents to the Minneapolis and Chicago areas violated states’ rights.
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This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities and Minnesota, and it must stop. We ask the courts to end the D.H.S. unlawful behavior in our state. The intimidation, the threats, the violence. We ask the courts to end the tactics on our places of worship, our schools, our courts, our marketplaces, our hospitals and even funeral homes.
By Jackeline Luna
January 12, 2026
Politics
Rep Ro Khanna demands prosecution of ICE agent in Minneapolis fatal shooting
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Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called for the arrest and prosecution of the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good in a residential neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota on Jan. 7.
Khanna also urged Congress to back his legislation with Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, to require ICE agents to wear body cameras, display visible identification, stop wearing masks during operations and be subject to independent oversight.
In a post shared on X, the former Obama administration official said: “I am calling for the arrest and prosecution of the ICE agent that shot and killed Renee Good.”
“I am also calling on Congress to support my bill with @JasmineForUS to force ICE agents to wear body cameras, not wear masks, have visible identification, and ensure ICE has independent oversight,” Khanna added.
MINNESOTA BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION DROPS OUT OF ICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING INVESTIGATION
An ICE agent shot and killed the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman during a federal enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. Federal officials have said agents were attempting to make arrests when the woman tried to use her vehicle as a weapon against officers, prompting an ICE agent to fire in self-defense.
Good’s death sparked widespread protests in Minneapolis and across the U.S. as demonstrators called for changes to federal immigration enforcement.
Renee Nicole Good moments before she was shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis. (Obtained by Fox News)
Local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, criticized the federal account of the incident and rejected the claim that the officer acted in self-defense. Minnesota has since sued the Trump administration, claiming the immigration enforcement surge in the state is “unlawful” and “unprecedented.”
“What we are seeing right now is not normal immigration enforcement,” Frey said. “The scale is wildly disproportionate, and it has nothing to do with keeping people safe.”
The Trump administration pushed back sharply against the lawsuit, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accusing Minnesota leaders of undermining public safety and obstructing federal law enforcement.
MINNESOTA SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER SWEEPING IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN TWIN CITIES
Federal officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, maintained that the agent fired in self-defense.
Renee Good’s crashed car after the shooting. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Noem critisized Democrats on Sunday amid an Illinois lawmaker’s push to impeach her following the deadly shooting.
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“These law enforcement officers are trained to be in situations that are dangerous, and they rely on that training each and every day to make the right decisions,” Noem said during “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Politics
Democrat-turned-Republican Gloria Romero announces run for lieutenant governor
Gloria Romero, a former Democrat and state Senate Majority Leader, announced Monday she is running for lieutenant governor as part of a ticket with GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator.
“At the end of the day, it’s really about one-party rule in Sacramento. I’ve seen it. I left it,” Romero said in an interview. “We’ve got to make a change, otherwise we will never turn around on accountability or affordability and fight for working families like the Democrats once said the party stood for. Those days are gone. It’s a new day, and I’m proud to work alongside Steve in this exciting race to make California Golden again.”
Hilton, who has a long-standing political relationship with Romero, said her expertise in the state Capitol is among the reasons he selected her. Romero served in the state Senate and Assembly for about 12 years, including three as the state Senate’s first female majority leader.
“She’s been incredibly helpful already, helping me understand how Sacramento works and doesn’t work,” Hilton said. “When I’m the governor I will have to work with the legislature. And one of the most important things that I see as a real benefit from having Gloria there with me is that she’s not just been in the legislature, she’s led one of the chambers. She really understands how it works and still has relationships.”
Other candidates running for lieutenant governor include Treasurer Fiona Ma, former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and Josh Fryday, a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet, all Democrats, and state Sen. Brian Jones (R-Santee).
Romero was a lifelong Democrat, including co-chairing President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in California. But she began to break with her party over education reform, notably her support for school choice.
“Education is the key to the American dream, and yet my party was so beholden to the teachers union, the alphabet soup of power influencers in Sacramento,” she said.
Invoking the words of the late President Reagan, Romero said she didn’t leave the Democratic party, the party left her. She became a registered Republican in September 2024 after what she calls a “political coup” to oust President Biden as the Democratic nominee. She then endorsed President Trump and spoke at a rally supporting him near Coachella.
She said the lieutenant governor’s role is typically a sleepy perch for politicians as they bide their time to run for higher office.
“It should not be that way,” Romero said, adding that the lieutenant governor’s role on the boards that oversee the UCs, Cal States and community college is a particularly good fit for her wheelhouse. “Education and turning around education, it’s in my blood, it’s in my dreams. It’s my passion.”
Unlike presidential elections, statewide contests do not feature running mates; each candidate must be elected on their own merits.
Hilton said Romero was the first member of his “golden ticket for California” and that he planned to roll out other statewide candidates who will join their effort.
“I know it hasn’t been done before. It’s not how things are normally done,” he said. “But right from the beginning, when I was thinking about my race for governor, one of the things that I really wanted to do was to put together a strong team, because turning around California is going to take a strong team.”
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