President-elect Donald Trump has made no secret of his intention to pardon those who were accused of participating in the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill.

While that stance has brought condemnation from critics, it appears that Senate Republicans are on board with Trump. 

Senators point to President Joe Biden's pardon of his son

As The Hill reported, newly elected Senate Minority Leader John Thune cited President Joe Biden's controversial decision to pardon his son when discussing the issue.

"As we found from Hunter Biden, the president’s pardon authority is pretty extensive. That’s obviously a decision he’ll have to make," Thune said on Wednesday.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn offered a similar perspective, stating, "We've seen what President Biden did with his son, and presidents have that prerogative and it really doesn’t involve Congress."

Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy was one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict in Trump's second impeachment trial, and he provided a more nuanced perspective.

"He said he would pardon some of them. I don’t know what 'some of them' means. And so I would just like to see what that means before I comment on them," Cassidy told reporters on Tuesday.

Pardons to come on "first day"

While speaking with Welker, Trump reiterated his intention to pardon January 6 defendants on his "first day" in office, saying, "We're going to look at individual cases. But I'm going to be acting very quickly."

President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to issue pardons for Jan. 6 defendants on his first day in the White House.

PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP:
Yeah. I’m looking first day.

KRISTEN WELKER:
You’re going to issue these pardons?

PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP:
These people have been… pic.twitter.com/G2VRuKOC8U

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 8, 2024

Trump repeatedly promised to issue pardon over the course of this year's election campaign, including at a September rally in Wisconsin.

"The moment we win, we will rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner unjustly victimized by the Harris regime, and I will sign their pardons on Day 1," The Hill quoted him as saying.

Trump wants members of January 6 committee jailed

Thune also reacted to a recent interview Trump had with NBC host Kristen Welker in which he said that members of the House committee tasked with investigating January 6 belong in jail.

Trump singled out the committee's former chairman, Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, as well as former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney

"I think with respect to the committee … if there’s something that needs to be looked at there, I'm sure the appropriate authorities will look at it. I don’t have a comment really on those statements," Thune stated.