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HJRES 135
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Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the pardon power of the President.

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the pardon power of the President.

Introduced Dec 18, 2025

Latest action (Dec 18, 2025) Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Referred to
Judiciary Committee
Policy area
Government Operations and Politics
Issues
Criminal Justice

Summary

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to limit the President's pardon power. The amendment requires the President to notify Congress within 3 days of granting a pardon or reprieve. Congress could then vote to nullify the pardon by a two-thirds vote in both houses within 60 days of receiving notification. If Congress does not nullify the pardon within that timeframe, the pardon becomes effective 90 days after the President notifies Congress. The President would be prohibited from re-granting a pardon for an offense that Congress has previously nullified.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
7 cosponsors

Money behind the sponsor

Top reported contributors to Johnny Olszewski’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.

  • CHESAPEAKE REALTY PARTNERS $13,200
  • VENABLE LLP $10,400
  • HIMMELRICH ASSOCIATES, INC. $9,900
  • MILEONE $9,900
  • TRADEPOINT ATLANTIC $9,300

Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Johnny Olszewski → · Outside spending →

Actions (2)
  1. Dec 18, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
  2. Dec 18, 2025 Introduced in House

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • HJRES 13 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States limiting the pardon power of the President. · Introduced Jan 9, 2025 · Cong. 119 72%
  • HJRES 108 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that there is no immunity from criminal prosecution for an act on the grounds that such act was within the constitutional authority or official duties of an individual, and providing that the President may not grant a pardon to himself or herself. · Introduced Jul 22, 2025 · Cong. 119 69%
  • HR 2248 — SIGN Pardons Act · Introduced Mar 21, 2025 · Cong. 119 61%
  • HR 6954 — January 6th Truth and Transparency Act · Introduced Jan 6, 2026 · Cong. 119 59%
  • HJRES 139 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government. · Passed House Mar 18, 2026 · Cong. 119 56%
  • HJRES 145 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the terms of office of the judges of the Supreme Court and inferior courts. · Introduced Jan 30, 2026 · Cong. 119 55%

Text versions (1)
  • Introduced in House · Dec 18, 2025

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 18, 2025

Mr. Olszewski (for himself and Mr. Bacon) submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the pardon power of the President.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:

“Article—

“Section 1. The President shall transmit a notification of a grant of a Reprieve or Pardon within 3 days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Upon receipt of such notification, Congress may, within 30 days, introduce a Bill to nullify the Reprieve or Pardon. Upon introduction of a Bill to nullify, Congress may pass, within 60 days, the Bill by two-thirds vote of both Houses. If a Bill to nullify a Reprieve or Pardon is not passed by Congress, the Reprieve or Pardon shall become effective on the date that is 90 days after the date in which the President notifies the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of a Reprieve or Pardon. “Section 2. Any Bill to nullify a Reprieve or Pardon that is signed by 20 Representatives or 5 Senators shall be voted on. “Section 3. If the President fails to notify the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of a grant of a Reprieve or Pardon within 3 days, the Reprieve or Pardon shall have no force or effect. “Section 4. The President may not grant a reprieve or pardon of an offense against the United States that was previously nullified by Congress. “Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”. <all>

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