President Joe Biden has kicked off his final holiday season at the White House, issuing the traditional reprieve to two turkeys who will bypass the Thanksgiving table to live out their days in Minnesota.

President Joe Biden tapped into his presidential pardon power in the waning days of his time in office Monday, granting clemency to a pair of lucky turkeys and kicking off the holiday season.

In more recent years, the White House Presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey has included the "pardoning" of a turkey and its alternate. This started in 1989 with former President George H. W. Bush in 1989, which marked the 200 th anniversary of former President George Washington 's proclamation for Thanksgiving Day.