In a late Friday presidential memo, Donald Trump revoked the security clearances of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and a list of top Democrats and political adversaries. This move will restrict their access to classified information.
The clearance revocations will also affect Liz Cheney, former representative Adam Kinzinger, Attorney General Letitia James, and members of Biden’s family. Typically, former presidents and officials are afforded access to classified information as a courtesy following their time in public service.
Trump stated that these clearances are no longer in the national interest and directed all heads of executive departments and agencies to revoke unescorted access to secure U.S. government facilities for these individuals.
Earlier this month, the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, revoked the clearances and blocked individuals named in Trump’s memo and those who signed a letter asserting that the Hunter Biden laptop was a Russian disinformation campaign.
Trump’s actions appear to be retaliatory, as Biden had previously banned Trump from accessing classified documents due to his “erratic behavior.” Furthermore, Trump recently withdrew Secret Service protections for Biden’s children, Hunter and Ashley.
The security clearance revocations also seem to target Trump’s political enemies, including state officials who have prosecuted him, experts who testified against him in an impeachment trial, and Republican politicians who investigated the U.S. Capitol riots.
News reports indicate that Biden and his wife are volunteering to help fundraise and rebuild the Democratic party following Kamala Harris’s defeat in the recent election. Biden’s offer to assist had not been accepted.
An NBC News poll found that the Democratic party’s popularity is at a record low, with only 27% of registered voters holding positive views. When asked about Biden re-entering politics, Trump responded, “I hope so.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/22/trump-revokes-security-clearances-political-enemies
