WASHINGTON — Several Republicans from Wisconsin’s congressional delegation were present Monday when Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President.
“It was incredibly patriotic,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien.
“It was electric,” said Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah.
“Truly was amazing,” said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua.
One of Trump’s first official acts after his swearing in was pardoning or commuting the sentences of more than 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, even those who attacked police officers. Rioters tried to overturn the 2020 election, encouraged by Trump’s false claims that he lost because of fraud.
“I absolutely fully support pardoning everybody that came to this Capitol on January 6 and acted in a peaceful manner,” Van Orden said.
Van Orden was at Trump’s rally before the insurrection four years ago but has since expressed regret for being there. He and other Republicans have raised questions about pardons for those who assaulted law enforcement officers.
“I do not support the pardons for people who assaulted police officers. Now, I support commutations,” Van Orden said. “There’s no way in hell those people should have been in jail that long.”
“A little bit of concern if someone committed a violent act,” Tiffany added.
Trump also signed executive orders focused on security at the southern border. On Trump’s promise to enact mass deportations for people in the country illegally, one Wisconsin Democrat said this.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison. “I’m not going to count on Congress to be there to fix things, unfortunately, but I will use the bully pulpit.”
Trump also signed an order to end birthright citizenship, the constitutional guarantee, under the 14th Amendment, of citizenship to nearly all children born in the U.S. even if their parents are not U.S. citizens.
“The idea that we’d pick an American to be a citizen based on the fact that mom was in the United States for two weeks and had a baby… No, I’m with President Trump 100%, and it’s embarrassing that Wisconsin has a governor that’s not on board,” Grothman said.
Wisconsin is one of more than 20 states that immediately joined in lawsuits to block that order. Many of Trump’s immigration-related executive orders are expected to face legal challenges.
