President Joe Biden isn’t the only one to pull a shocking and sudden reversal on pardoning his son Hunter Biden. So too, it seems, has the Democratic base. As the dust settles on a pardon that the president and his White House repeatedly assured would not happen,

U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips criticized President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, saying recent U.S. presidents have "abused" the power of pardoning and called for reforms.

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine tax violations in September and was convicted in a separate case on felony firearms-related charges. He could have faced decades in prison, though his upcoming sentencing was likely to be a much less severe punishment.

Some Democrats fear that Trump will use the pardon to criticize the justice system and bolster his own efforts to remake it.