In a rare display of bipartisan unity that didn't involve renaming a post office, the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday declaring that Ghislaine Maxwell should absolutely, positively not receive a presidential pardon. The resolution, introduced by Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), states that Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking crimes alongside the late Jeffrey Epstein, should not be granted clemency "for her crimes with Jeffrey Epstein relating to the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors."

While Senate resolutions are about as binding as a New Year's resolution to go to the gym, Rosen's office noted that this one was "designed to put the Senate on record opposing the prospect" of Donald Trump pardoning Maxwell. "It's frankly horrifying that Trump would entertain the idea of clemency for even a second for a convicted sex trafficker," Rosen said on the Senate floor, presumably while pointing dramatically at the White House.

The resolution came as the Senate considered Trump's nomination of Todd Blanche as permanent acting attorney general. Rosen said the unanimous vote sent a clear message that "there should be NO special treatment for Ghislaine Maxwell." Republicans, by not objecting, agreed that granting Maxwell a pardon would be "inconsistent with the interests of justice and accountability for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children."

This all comes after Maxwell exhausted her appeals - the Supreme Court declined to hear her petition last October - and after she appeared via video for a congressional deposition in February, where she refused to answer questions unless granted clemency. In April, reports emerged that committee members were divided over whether Trump should consider a pardon in exchange for cooperation. Last year, when asked about a pardon, Trump said, "I haven't heard the name in so long," then added he'd "have to take a look." In May, Blanche told lawmakers he wouldn't recommend a pardon, though he also denied knowing whether Maxwell was receiving preferential treatment at her new minimum-security prison camp in Texas - a move experts called "unprecedented."

Survivors of Epstein's abuse have long been outraged by the prospect of clemency. As one attorney representing numerous survivors put it in May, "Any talk of clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for testimony turns justice on its head - it risks rewarding the very person who helped enable the abuse." So, the Senate has spoken: no pardons for the lady who helped traffic minors. We'll see if anyone in the White House was listening.