In a landmark ruling this week, the Supreme Court declared in a 6-3 decision that the Thanksgiving tradition in which the President pardons a turkey is actually a gross overreach of federal power. Writing the decision from the majority, Chief Justice Roberts wrote, “Our founding fathers never intended for Article II of the Constitution to give the President such sweeping power to be able to pardon a turkey. This authority should be left to the states, while the presidential pardon should clearly be limited to uses like pardoning your political allies, January 6th rioters, Kodak Black, or yourself.”
Although a bold move from the court, the decision was not made in a vacuum. The Fed’s investigative team revealed that the conservative justices began having concerns about this presidential power when President Biden accidentally granted a pardon to a chicken at this year’s ceremony. In a leaked message from Clarence Thomas to his Russian oligarch sugar daddy, he exclaimed, “Biden has fewer brain cells than I have disclosed donations! (btw, more $$ plz 😘🥺👉👈).”
The more liberal justices on the court released a scathing dissent, packed with extensive legal critiques of the decision including “Who cares about the difference between a turkey and a chicken anyway, they taste about the same in a sandwich.” This argument seemed to fall on deaf ears.
In light of the new decision, state governors across the country have been swift to pardon turkeys of their own, with states divided harshly along partisan lines as to which turkeys deserve safety this year. Democratic governors like Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gavin Newsom of California were quick to pardon Cluckin’ Charlie, a rambunctious turkey with “great vibes and a rowdy but respectful attitude.” Meanwhile, Republicans like Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas were quick to condemn Cluckin’ Charlie for his refusal to speak out against gender-neutral restrooms; instead, they opted to pardon Frisky Frank, a turkey who “loves owning the libs and supports our Second Amendment.” With such division already brewing, it’s already clear that the turkey pardon will be a hot-button issue for the 2026 midterm elections.
