President Trump’s advisers are considering Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a drug conviction when the president commuted her sentence during his first term, to be the “pardon czar,” according to three people familiar with the discussions.
It was not immediately clear what the role would entail, but Ms. Johnson, at the end of Mr. Trump’s first term, said she wanted to work on behalf of people she believed should be considered for clemency.
Ms. Johnson’s appointment has not been finalized, and like many things in Mr. Trump’s world, plans could change. When reached by phone, Ms. Johnson declined to comment. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Johnson, whose case was originally brought to Mr. Trump’s attention by Kim Kardashian, has become a vocal supporter of the president. Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers see her as being politically helpful to him over the years; during the 2020 presidential race, the Trump campaign featured her in a Super Bowl ad in an effort to reach Black voters.
Still, her case, and the new role of “pardon czar,” show how Mr. Trump’s approach to criminal justice reform is rife with contradictions. He signed the bipartisan First Step Act, which aimed to reduce prison sentences for certain nonviolent drug crimes, during his first term, then told advisers privately soon afterward that he regretted it, according to multiple officials working with him at the time.
During his 2024 campaign, he called for shooting thieves who steal from drugstores and for the death penalty for drug traffickers and dealers. Then, in one of his first acts as president in his second term, he issued a grant of clemency to all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — violent and nonviolent alike.