Trump floats pardons; teases vetoes as he faces possible split Government

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station inside a shopping mall in Anchorage, Alaska, on Monday, a day ahead of the US midterm elections. Democrat US Senate candidate Mary Peltola faces incumbent Republican US Senator Dan Sullivan in a highly contested race. (Photo: AFP) WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump floated pardons for allies and teased vetoes on Democratic legislation Monday, a day before midterm elections that could see his Republican Party lose control of Congress. In a New York Post tabloid podcast the president previewed his post-midterms playbook, saying he would liberally hand out pardons for allies. If, as polls predict, Democrats capture one or both chambers of Congress, they will have wide authority to launch investigations and hold hearings into Trump Administration officials’ conduct — past and present. They will also control the legislative agenda, passing Bills that promote their priorities, and creating further headaches for a president who has until now had consolidated Republican power on Capitol Hill. But Trump made clear he is ready to veto anything he doesn’t like from a future Congress. On the Pod Force One podcast Trump was asked if he’d pardon “everybody who worked for you”. Trump responded: “I would not even think about — I’d do it. “I did it for J6,” Trump added, referring to supporters convicted of or facing trial for participating in the January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the US capital. On his first day in office in 2025, after re-election, he pardoned some 1,500 of them. The podcast host, Miranda Devine, predicted that Democrats could seek to go after Trump’s allies, including Elon Musk — the world’s richest man — who was given a free rein to ax thousands of government workers and gut funding to programmes at the start of the Administration. Devine said Musk, who has also donated nearly half a billion dollars to Republican candidates in Tuesday’s election, might face arrest. Trump said, “It’s talk, but if it is talk we’ll have to protect them.” Democrats have long pointed to multiple ethical concerns and conflicts of interest during Trump’s second term — a term in which the personal wealth of the president and his family has ballooned. Congressional investigations can’t bring criminal charges but they can force the subjects to testify and turn over evidence — which can be referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. The Justice Department will remain under Trump’s control, meaning actual criminal charges are a long shot. TRUMP… I will become Mr Veto (Photo: AFP) But even if no charges are brought, the spectacles could politically hem in the president and his allies. Trump also took a jab at former Democratic President Joe Biden who issued wide, pre-emptive pardons for his family and many of his staff shortly before leaving office. Trump claimed widespread success in governing over the last two years but told the podcast this could be derailed if “people come in that hate our country”, referring to Democrats who could get elected on Tuesday. “I will become Mr Veto,” Trump said, before adding that he’d be open to making deals. “They’ll be sending stuff up, you veto it, and eventually, after a month or two of getting all vetoed… They come over and you make a deal,” the president said. Congress can overcome the president’s veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers — a high obstacle when Democratic control could be held together by a razor-thin margin. While the House appears highly likely to turn Democratic, the battle for the Senate is far closer. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control. Only a third of the 100 seats are being contested, and few of those races initially looked favorable to the party. To win, Democrats must flip seats in states that Trump carried by double digits two years ago. Forecaster Decision Desk HQ has Democrats winning the Senate 52-48 and the House by a comfortable 241-194. The final New York Times/Siena poll, released Sunday evening, showed Democrats leading in all seven of the most competitive Senate races, though five were within the margin of error. Today is election day but a record 54 million people have already cast ballots. The midterms have also drawn about US$11 billion in advertising, with large chunks coming from individual mega-donors.