Trump cancels Biden-era pardons issued by autopen

He followed the move on Wednesday with a sweeping reversal of Biden’s federal fuel-economy mandates, blasting them as costly, unrealistic, and disastrous for automakers.

By Jewish Breaking News

President Donald Trump has announced that he is terminating any pardons or legal documents signed by Joe Biden using an autopen.

Routinely used for ceremonial or high-volume correspondence, the autopen has been accepted for decades as a valid presidential signature, as no law requires a president to sign a pardon by hand.

Throughout Biden’s presidency, GOP lawmakers seized on his reliance on the device, arguing it demonstrated alleged mental decline and allowed Democrats to make decisions on his behalf without direct presidential involvement.

“It remains unclear whether Biden used the device on pardons at all, but Trump asserted again on Tuesday, after making the same claim a week ago on Truth Social, that any such documents are “of no legal effect.””

“Any and all Documents, Proclamations, Executive Orders, Memorandums, or Contracts, signed by order of the now infamous and unauthorized ‘AUTOPEN,’ within the administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., are hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect,” Trump wrote.

“Anyone receiving ‘Pardons,’ ‘Commutations,’ or any other legal document so signed, please be advised that said document has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no legal effect.”

Biden issued multiple pardons before leaving office in January, including for several family members he argued were vulnerable to politically motivated investigations, along with commutations for nonviolent drug offenders.

Of the 116 issued, some of the most notable include retired General Mark Milley, members of the House January 6 committee, and former GOP Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

Fox News reports that Hunter Biden’s pardon, issued just days before the former president left the White House, is unaffected because it was signed by hand.

But Trump didn’t stop at voiding Biden’s autopen actions. He followed the move on Wednesday with a sweeping reversal of Biden’s federal fuel-economy mandates, blasting them as costly, unrealistic, and disastrous for automakers.

“We’re officially terminating Joe Biden’s ridiculously burdensome, horrible, actually, CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards that impose expensive restrictions and all sorts of problems — gave all sorts of problems to automakers,” Trump said. “And we’re not only talking about here, we’re talking about outside of our country.”

Enacted in 2024, the Biden administration’s fuel-efficiency rule required automakers to increase mileage standards each year from 2027 through 2031, ultimately pushing the national average to roughly 50.4 miles per gallon in an effort to cut emissions and lower long-term fuel costs.

With the rollback, the White House says Americans could save up to $109 billion in vehicle costs.

autopenJoe BidenTrump administration