Trump Cancels Security Clearance for Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and Others

Trump has ordered former US officials and political critics, such as Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, to lose their security clearance.

Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, members of the Biden family, as well as a number of political opponents and legal rivals, have all had their security clearances withdrawn by US President Donald Trump.

The move comes after Trump revoked Joe Biden’s clearance in February, and the new memo reiterated that decision.

“I have decided that the following individuals no longer have access to classified information in the national interest,” Trump said.
As a courtesy, security clearance is customarily kept for high-ranking officials and former presidents.

Trump’s order, however, also instructed federal agencies to stop granting the listed individuals unescorted access to secure government sites.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are among the prominent members of the Biden administration who have had their clearance revoked.

Additionally, Trump denied security access to two former officials from his own administration, Alexander Vindman and Fiona Hill, who both testified against him during his impeachment trial in 2019.

Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, prominent Republican detractors, also lost their clearance. Both supported Trump’s second impeachment and participated in the House probe regarding his involvement in the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.

Norm Eisen, the attorney, who led lawsuits against Trump’s federal workforce policies; Andrew Weissmann, the former federal prosecutor, who was involved in an investigation into Trump during his first term; Mark Zaid, the whistleblower attorney, who claimed he had not received formal notice despite being informed three times that his clearance was revoked; Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, who led numerous lawsuits against Trump’s businesses; and Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, who prosecuted Trump’s hush money case.

A number of people gave defiant responses. “I don’t care what noises Donald Trump makes about a security clearance that hasn’t been active for five years,” Alexander Vindman said on X, dismissing the action.

“Being targeted by Trump just makes me file even more lawsuits!” said Norm Eisen.

Trump has already utilized security clearances as a political tactic. In the past, he denied access to more than forty former intelligence officers, claiming without proof that they had tampered with the 2020 election to benefit Biden.

Citing Biden’s 2021 decision to refuse him intelligence briefings because to his “erratic behavior,” Trump has justified his actions.

Despite being judged to have completely cooperated with investigators in a 2024 Justice Department investigation, Biden has come under fire for maintaining sensitive materials from his time as vice president.

In the meantime, Trump was charged in 2023 with mishandling secret data; however, a federal judge in Florida dropped the case in July 2024. In December 2024, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith formally abandoned the case following Trump’s reelection.

Trump has made it apparent with this most recent action that he is prepared to attack political opponents, which might pave the way for more legal and political disputes during his second term.