Trump nixes security clearances for Biden, Harris, Clinton, other enemies

Some of the people on Trump's list said they don't have active security clearances

By Natalie Chandler

Money Editor

Published March 22, 2025 3:32PM (EDT)

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris shakes hands with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and US President Joe Bidenl ook on during a remembrance ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. (Photo by Adam GRAY / AFP) (Getty Images)
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris shakes hands with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and US President Joe Bidenl ook on during a remembrance ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. (Photo by Adam GRAY / AFP) (Getty Images)

Donald Trump continued his revenge tour late Friday as he directed federal agencies to revoke security clearances for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and his other enemies.

“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump wrote in a presidential memo listing 15 people who have taken him on directly or have been caught in his crosshairs.

“I hereby direct every executive department and agency head to take all additional action as necessary and consistent with existing law to revoke any active security clearances held by the aforementioned individuals and to immediately rescind their access to classified information," the memo read, per media outlets.

It was unclear which names on the list have active security clearances. One of them, former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, posted on X: "I haven't had one for years." A spokesman for New York Attorney General Letitia James said, "What security clearance?"

The list names people who upset Trump in a variety of ways during and since his first term, such as testifying in his first impeachment hearings, investigating his actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol or prosecuting him for fraud.

Politico reported some of the other names included former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Former Biden aides appeared on the list: Antony Blinken, who served as secretary of state, and Jake Sullivan, who was national security adviser.

Fiona Hill and Alexander Vindman, who both testified during Trump's 2019 impeachment hearings, and Norman Eisen, a lawyer who oversaw the impeachment, are on the list, The New York Times reported.

Some were mentioned as targets earlier this year, including Biden, who revoked Trump's security clearance in 2021. Clinton and Harris appear to be new to the list, and Biden's entire family was also named, per The Times.

The revocations are "largely a symbolic action" but could also block Trump's rivals from entering federal buildings, The Times reported.

Trump said he would also “direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals," per The Times.

Earlier this week, Trump revoked security protections for Biden's children, Ashley and Hunter.

Trump has also targeted his own aides, pulling security detail from former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former aide Brian Hook.

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