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No Checks, No Balance

Why it’s time to reform the pardon power by amending the Constitution.
President Trump Signs Executive Orders At The White House
President Donald Trump speaks as he signs a pardon for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the Oval Office at the White House on February 10, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Ours is a system of “checks and balances.”

The president can do this or that, but the courts and Congress can put a stop to it (depending on the circumstances and relevant rules). When the courts rule that the executive branch can’t do something, Congress can write a law saying the president can do it.

Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Dispatch, based in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, enormous lizards roamed the Earth. More immediately prior to that, Jonah spent two decades at National Review, where he was a senior editor, among other things. He is also a bestselling author, longtime columnist for the Los Angeles Times, commentator for CNN, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. When he is not writing the G-File or hosting The Remnant podcast, he finds real joy in family time, attending to his dogs and cat, and blaming Steve Hayes for various things.

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