After the pardons were announced, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky — both Republicans — posted to X claiming that issuing pardons to Fauci, Milley and others implied they were guilty of a crime, as did other right-leaning accounts on the platform.

Joe Biden, in one of his final acts as president, pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, in an extraordinary use of executive power to guard against potential “revenge” by the new Trump administration.

In the final minutes of his presidency, Joe Biden pre-emptively pardoned several family members, including his brothers James and Frank Biden, and sister Valerie Biden Owens. Biden said the pardons were intended to shield his family from politically motivated attacks and should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment of any wrongdoing.