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President Donald Trump has said he would use his pardon power to shield the people around him if Democrats win control of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections and move against them, in an interview published on Monday, November 2, 2026, the day before voters head to the polls.
The remarks came in an interview with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine on the Post's "Pod Force One" podcast. Asked whether he would issue pardons ahead of any Democratic investigations of his staff, Trump said: "I would if I needed to." He added that he would not hesitate to do so, and pointed to the pardons he issued on his first day back in office in 2025 to roughly 1,500 defendants from the January 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol.
Trump also addressed talk on the left of going after Elon Musk, the world's richest man, and former staff of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the cost-cutting operation Musk led. He dismissed the talk at first, saying it would not happen, but added: "But if it is talk, we'll have to protect them." He did not name a pardon as the specific mechanism for Musk, and he did not name which aides or allies he would consider pardoning.
Trump justified the position by pointing to former President Joe Biden, who in his final hours in office in January 2025 issued preemptive pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, members and staff of the House committee that investigated January 6, and several of his own relatives, including his son Hunter. Trump said: "That's what Biden did. He gave everybody a pardon."
The timing matters because polls have consistently shown Democrats in a strong position to flip the House on Tuesday. The party in the majority runs the committees, which can hold hearings, issue subpoenas and demand records from the administration. Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, has named Trump family business dealings, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, corporate corruption and the Epstein files as early targets. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, in line to lead the House Judiciary Committee if Democrats win the House, has promised to pursue what he calls the administration's systemic corruption.
Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said last month that a Democratic majority should prosecute "signature cases" against "the people who enable" Trump, saying she wanted a deterrence message sent so young conservatives think twice about taking jobs in the administration. Some on the left have gone further: former Labor Secretary Robert Reich urged Democrats to lay the "groundwork" for nationalizing SpaceX, while others have suggested DOGE staffers, including Edward Coristine, should be targeted.
A preemptive pardon is issued before anyone has been charged, covering conduct that may never be investigated. It covers only federal crimes, and offers no protection from state prosecutions, civil suits or impeachment, and it cannot stop Congress from holding hearings or issuing subpoenas.
Trump has been defending Musk publicly for days. On Friday, he told FOX Business that Americans have an "obligation to protect our geniuses," calling Musk a "brilliant guy" when asked whether Democrats could come after him. Musk, who has spent nearly half a billion dollars opposing Democrats this election cycle according to Axios, responded to the threat of investigations on X with the words: "Live by the sword, die by the sword." Asked whether he himself was in Democrats' crosshairs, Trump was less certain, saying he did not know about himself. He called polls showing Democrats favored to win the House "rigged" and said: "We'll know on Tuesday night."