Several high-profile officials, including Biden’s family, lose access to classified information
US President Donald Trump followed through on his pledge Friday to revoke the security clearances of his predecessor Joe Biden and several senior former White House and national security officials. The list of individuals stripped of their authorization to view state secrets included Biden, his family members, and former vice president and Trump’s presidential rival Kamala Harris.
Also on the list were former secretary of state and defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Biden’s secretary of state Antony Blinken, and national security advisor Jacob Sullivan.
In a memorandum to agency heads, distributed by the White House communications office, Trump declared that these officials should no longer have access to classified material.
“I hereby direct every executive department and agency head … to revoke any active security clearances held by the aforementioned individuals,” Trump stated.
“I also direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals.”
Breaking presidential tradition
Traditionally, former US presidents and national security officials retain security clearances as a courtesy, with some using them to secure employment with private contractors.
However, Trump—who continues to claim that Biden orchestrated fraud in the 2020 election—has remained hostile towards his predecessor, frequently lashing out at him.
Trump himself was previously investigated for violating security protocols between his two terms by storing classified White House documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The probe was concluded after he returned to office.
A politically charged decision
Many of those on Trump’s list were key political appointees of his Democratic predecessor. However, former Republican lawmaker and outspoken Trump critic Liz Cheney was also named.
Additionally, Fiona Hill, a British-born intelligence analyst who served under both Democratic and Republican administrations—including as an advisor in Trump’s White House—was targeted.
She was joined by former colleague Alexander Vindman, a Kyiv-born retired senior US Army officer, who fell out of favor with Trump after voicing concerns about White House interactions with Russia.
