The controversial move, which the president made Sunday after concluding the prosecution of his son was politically motivated, marked a full reversal from previous pledges not to pardon him.

“President Biden’s decision to pardon his son was wrong,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who ran Senate Democrats’ campaign arm this cycle and is up for reelection in 2026. “A president’s family and allies shouldn’t get special treatment. This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.”

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) said Biden “put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all.”

“President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter is, as the action of a loving father, understandable,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) said. “But as the action of our nation’s chief executive, unwise.”

Many Democrats expressed empathy for Biden’s apparent desire to protect his son but warned that the sweeping blanket pardon extending as far back as 2014 and beyond the scope of his conviction could set a poor precedent for future abuses of power. Biden’s move made him an easy target for Democrats, given his low approval ratings as he prepares to leave office in the wake of his party’s crushing defeats at the ballot box against Republicans.

More progressive lawmakers, such as “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), fumed that Biden should instead use his pardon pen for tens of thousands of Americans incarcerated for drug crimes.

Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO), a possible 2028 presidential contender, went so far as to say Biden’s decision may forever “tarnish his reputation.”

“While as a father I certainly understand President Joe Biden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country,” Polis said. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation. When you become president, your role is Pater familias of the nation. Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a president and not a president’s son.”

Biden, in his pardon statement, said his son’s original misdemeanor plea agreement that ultimately fell apart would have “been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.” The president made the case that he kept his word not to “interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making,” even as he “watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” The younger Biden had not yet been sentenced but faced time in prison.

“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” Biden said. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, peppered by reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday over the hypocrisy of Biden’s actions, defended the pardon.

“Hunter was singled out, and because his last name was Biden, because he was the president’s son,” Jean-Pierre said. “That’s what we saw. The president believed enough is enough, and the president took action, and he also believes that they tried to break his son in order to break him.”

First lady Jill Biden also said she approved.

“Of course, I support the pardon of my son,” she told pool reporters.

Other Democrats were not as understanding.

“As a father, I get it,” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) said. “But as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it’s a setback.”

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who won her battleground reelection last month, said pardons are “not for family members or to hand out political favors.”

“I expect to hear the same outrage from Republicans about President Trump’s use of pardons to help his supporters and well-connected donors,” Baldwin said.

President-elect Donald Trump posed a tongue-in-cheek question on Truth Social about whether pardons will also be extended to those charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump posted. “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”

But not all Democrats took the opportunity to use Biden as a political punching bag. Sen. Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a longtime ally, defended the president.

“It is a right given to the president, a power given to him under the Constitution, and Joe Biden is using it in a very humane way,” Durbin told the Washington Examiner. “I think Hunter Biden has been exploited for political purposes. It’s not the first time. Won’t be the last time in American history, but I can certainly understand Joe Biden standing up and saying that he wants to protect his son.”

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Republicans also laid into Biden for similar reasons as Democrats. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said he would have issued a pardon for his son, too, but expressed displeasure with prior pledges from Biden and White House officials not to do so.

“If it was my son, I’d pardon him, too,” Tuberville said. “But here’s what I didn’t like: Don’t lie to us. Don’t tell us you’re not going to do it and then do it. That’s not what a president should be like.”

David Sivak contributed to this report.