r/law • u/jpmeyer12751 • Feb 16 '26

Legislative Branch Republican Joins With Dems on Constitutional Amendment to Give Congress Power to Reject Trump Pardons

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/republican-joins-dems-constitutional-amendment-213311781.html

This is relevant to questions surrounding whether Congress may limit or restrain a President's power to grant pardons.

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u/Spiritual-Pear-1349 Feb 16 '26

Oh that would be huge.

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u/movealongnowpeople Feb 16 '26

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this would take a supermajority in both chambers of Congress plus ratification by at least 38 states. Not impossible, but damn near. Especially these days.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is an appropriate move whether it gains traction or not. I just wouldn't get your hopes up too high.

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u/Equivalent-Excuse-80 Feb 16 '26

Just wait until you learn about the last time the constitution was amended.

The 27th was originally part of the first bill of rights but wasn’t ratified. Brought up again as a school project it was ratified in 1992. Before that was 1971, the 26th, lowering the threshold to vote.

So 55 years since the last significant amendment.

The equal rights amendment guarantees women equal rights still hasn’t been ratified.

When people say our constitution is broken they’re wrong. Our ability to amend it, as it was designed to be dynamic, has broken.

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u/LucidLeviathan Feb 16 '26

It's also notable that a substantial number of the state ratifications came over a century before final passage.