Presidents with the most pardons
As the longest serving president, Franklin D. Roosevelt gave more pardons and commutations than any other to date, with a total of 2,819 people. Many of these were for people convicted of violating prohibition. Harry S. Truman also forgave a lot of people. According to USA News, many of those to be pardoned had been convicted of violating the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which implemented the military draft in the run up to America’s entry into World War II.
Here are the number of executive clemency actions granted by U.S. presidents since 1933.
15. George H.W. Bush
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 77
14. Joe Biden
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 80
13. George W. Bush
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 200
12. Ronald Reagan
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 406
11. Gerald Ford
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 409
10. Bill Clinton
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 459
9. Jimmy Carter
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 566
8. John F. Kennedy
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 575
7. Richard Nixon
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 926
6. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 1,158
5. Lyndon B. Johnson
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 1,187
4. Barack Obama
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 1,927
3. Donald Trump
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 1,937 (237 first-term, over 1,700 second-term, as of August 2026)
2. Harry S. Truman
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 2,044
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Number of executive clemency actions granted: 3,796
Methodology
Data was taken from the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House.
Related:
- Presidential photos: An intimate look at America’s White House families
- This day in history: Eisenhower takes the first presidential helicopter ride
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This article originally appeared on Statista and was syndicated by MediaFeed.co.
