Trump Revokes Security Clearances for Harris, Clinton, Other Top Democrats

The president also revoked the security clearances for the entire family of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Howard University in Washington on Nov. 6, 2024. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump on Friday revoked security clearances of more than 15 prominent political figures, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump stated in his presidential memo.

Trump had previously announced his intention to revoke security clearances for former President Joe Biden and several officials from the prior administration. The recent memo formalized that decision.

Aside from Harris and Clinton, Trump also revoked security clearances for former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and Biden’s entire family.

The list also includes former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, all of whom have been involved in legal cases against Trump.

Trump also revoked security clearances for former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger—both are Republicans and were part of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, breach.

Others named in the list are retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, former White House Russia expert Fiona Hill, former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen, former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, and lawyer Mark Zaid.

In his memo, Trump directed heads of executive departments and agencies to stop allowing the named individuals access to classified information.

Trump’s order applies to classified briefings and any access to classified information that the named individuals may have had due to their previous tenure in Congress.

“I also direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals,” he stated.

Trump said last month that he decided to revoke Biden’s security clearances due to his previous action and the report by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified information.

“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” he stated on Truth Social. “He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents.”

When Biden took office in 2021, he revoked Trump’s access to intelligence briefings, citing the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach. Trump was later impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate.

Former presidents have traditionally been afforded courtesy access to classified information at the highest level, as well as daily intelligence briefings, which enables them to remain apprised of national security issues and provide the incumbent president with advice as requested.

Few former presidents have requested such briefings, though the late President George H.W. Bush—a former director of Central Intelligence during the Gerald R. Ford administration—was known to do so.

After taking office on Jan. 20, Trump revoked the security clearances of former national security advisor John Bolton and 49 former U.S. intelligence officials who signed a letter discrediting credible reports about emails found on Hunter Biden’s laptop.

The former intelligence officials were accused of engaging in partisan politics by discrediting the reports ahead of the 2020 election, while the action against Bolton stemmed from his memoir, which the Trump administration said posed “a grave risk” of exposing classified material.

Separately, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Jan. 28 revoked the personal security detail and security clearance for retired Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who served as the nation’s highest-ranking military officer during Trump’s first term.

Arjun Singh, Melanie Sun, and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.