Only I can fix it · Second term · № 58
Criminal justice reform: 'Nobody else could do it'
“Criminal justice reform. Nobody else could do it. Obama couldn't do it. Nobody could do it. Clinton couldn't do it.”
- Said
- , Remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One
- Subject
- criminal justice reform
- Topic
- Justice & the courts
- Era
- Second term
What happened
The First Step Act was sponsored in the House by Republican Doug Collins with Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, passed the Senate 87-12 and the House 358-36 in December 2018 with no Democratic votes against, and was signed December 21, 2018; critics say his own Justice Department then under-applied it. In the second term the administration ended the Fresh Start program that let incarcerated students regain Pell eligibility restored by the Act, cut more than 10% of SAMHSA staff, and cancelled $16 million for the Prison Rape Elimination Act center. In September 2026 the Bureau of Prisons created a dedicated First Step Act office after years of implementation problems.