Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said Friday that he would have "preferred" that President Donald Trump allow the judicial process to "take its course" instead of pardoning former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Flake, who has slammed Trump and his policies in recent weeks, took to Twitter:

Regarding the Arpaio pardon, I would have preferred that the President honor the judicial process and let it take its course. — Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) August 26, 2017

But two other Arizona GOP members of Congress, Reps. Paul Gosar and Rep. Andy Biggs, praised Trump's decision.

Gosar told John Berman on CNN that the president upheld the "rule of law" in pardoning Arpaio.

"He asked for a jury trial," the fourth-term Gosar said. "From that standpoint, this was railroaded all the way through.

"When you talk about a justice system that was so negligent, the Obama administration set up Joe Arpaio on day one — and that's hardly an application of the rule of law.

"When you politicize the law, forbid the individual from a jury trial, you have got a big problem in the efficacy in regards to the rule of law — the way it is applied."

Biggs said in a statement that President Trump "brought justice to a situation where the Obama administration had attempted to destroy a political opponent.

"Sheriff Joe Arpaio made many enemies in the judicial system, the media, and the left because he enforced laws that the federal government ignored," the first-term Biggs said.

"He did right by the law — even as the political consequences continued to mount.

"America owes Sheriff Arpaio a debt of gratitude and not the injustice of a political witch hunt.