Trump Yanks Security Clearances for Political Enemies
President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump, Wednesday, November 13, 2024. Photo by Cameron Smith and courtesy of The White House. Public domain.
The list was long. The message was clear. And the timing? Impeccable. President Donald Trump, in a memo released late Friday, ordered the revocation of security clearances for more than a dozen individuals — including three of his former presidential rivals, a handful of prosecutors pursuing cases against him, and even the adult children of his 2020 opponent, Joe Biden.
The president framed it as a matter of national interest. But behind the official language of his executive directive, some say it reads like a political purge.
A Who's Who of Trump's Critics — Now Locked Out
According to the memo issued from Trump's desk to executive agencies, the names stripped of access include former President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — the trio who, in different election years, ran against Trump and lost.
They weren't alone.
The order also applies to:
- Biden's entire family, including Hunter and Ashley Biden
- Former Obama- and Biden-era officials: Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Lisa Monaco
- Republican Trump critics Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger
- Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and New York AG Letitia James — both of whom have been involved in legal actions targeting Trump
- Witnesses and legal minds from Trump's past impeachments: Fiona Hill, Alexander Vindman, Andrew Weissmann, Norman Eisen, and attorney Mark Zaid
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had already rescinded some of these clearances earlier this month after a classified review process ordered by the president (https://nypost.com/2025/03/21/us-news/trump-revokes-security-clearance-for-joe-biden-and-entire-family-kamala-harris-hillary-clinton-and-other-political-foes/).
But Trump's memo made it official — and added new names to the chopping block.
The Foreground: Security, Access, and Procedure
The White House insists this isn't about personal vengeance. According to the language of the memo, the clearance revocations are in response to concerns about unauthorized leaks and politicized handling of sensitive national security material, as reported by Arab News.
In addition to losing access to classified briefings, the individuals named in the order are also banned from entering secure federal facilities without escorts.
According to the New York post, the administration made it clear that these changes apply even if a person obtained clearance via a private employer — the agency that issued the original clearance must notify those companies of the revocation.
Historically, former presidents and senior officials have retained some classified access — not out of entitlement, but to advise on national crises. That tradition is now officially broken, at least under Trump's second term.
The Background: A President Who Never Forgets
To some, the memo was about protecting intelligence. But to others, especially those on the receiving end, it looked a lot like revenge.
Many of the names on the list — including Bragg, James, Hill, and Vindman — played key roles in efforts to impeach Trump, prosecute him, or criticize his administration publicly. Some, like Biden and Harris, are political rivals. Others, like Blinken and Sullivan, were central to the foreign policy strategies Trump often attacked.
The revocation even stretched to law firms, like Perkins Coie, which Trump blames for the infamous Steele dossier which alleged Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. Trump went further by signing executive orders limiting those firms' access to national security work. Paul Weiss, another major firm, reportedly negotiated its way out by agreeing to pro bono legal work for administration-approved causes, according to MSNBC.
Critics argue that these actions blur the lines between national security and personal vendettas.
Back in 2021, then-President Biden revoked Trump's own intelligence briefings, citing Trump's "erratic behavior" following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. At the time, Biden said Trump posed a security risk and questioned the value of keeping him in the loop, as reported by the New York Post.
Now, Trump seems to be returning the favor — and then some.
Legal and Political Fallout
Pulling security clearances isn't without precedent. But doing so en masse — and with such a clear through-line of political opposition — is what's raising eyebrows across the Beltway.
Legal experts and national security professionals are split. Some say the president has the authority to revoke clearances as he sees fit. Others warn that using that power to target rivals creates a chilling effect — especially for career public servants who may one day find themselves on the wrong side of an administration.
And it's not just about access. Many of the individuals now barred from classified information were previously employed in roles that relied on that clearance — meaning some may now find their future job prospects in jeopardy.
Trump, for his part, has argued that Biden set the precedent. And while the former president may not be wrong on that point, the scale and scope of Trump's memo appear unprecedented.
A Deeper Divide?
In Washington, motives matter just as much as memos.
And to many watching from the outside — from lawmakers to former intelligence officers to average voters — the question isn't whether Trump can revoke these clearances. It's whether he should.
The decision doesn't just reflect a changing standard. It reflects the deepening divide between the presidency and its past.
For some, it's a move that finally puts guardrails on who can access national secrets. For others, it’s the latest shot fired in an ongoing war of political retribution.
Either way, one thing is now certain: Donald Trump's second term isn't about letting bygones be bygones. It's about making sure those who crossed him — no longer have the clearance to look over his shoulder.
References: Trump revokes security clearance for Joe Biden and entire family, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and other political foes | Trump continues imposing petty punishments on Biden, Harris and other political foes | Trump pulls security clearances for Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton
