Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has become the latest ex-official from President Trump’s first term to lose their security detail, according to a report.
The Pentagon revoked Esper’s taxpayer-funded security detail on Tuesday night, CBS News reported on Wednesday.
Esper’s security detail had been provided by the Department of Defense as a result of threats he’s received from Iran since the 2020 US airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Esper, 60, served as Trump’s secretary of the Army from November 2017 to July 2019, before he was elevated to defense secretary.
Trump, 78, fired Esper in November 2020 – tweeting out that he was “terminated” – after the two butted heads over deploying troops to quell protests in Washington and renaming military bases that had been named after Confederate leaders.
After his firing, Esper became outspoken against Trump’s efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election and was critical of his former boss in a 2022 memoir.
Last month, Trump stripped ex-national security advisor John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of their 24-hour protection, arguing that they shouldn’t be receiving a taxpayer-funded security detail “for the rest of their lives” despite threats from Iran.
Former US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook also lost his round-the-clock protection.
“There’s nothing stopping these individuals … from obtaining private security,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last month. “That’s where the president stands on it.”
Last month, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley also had his security detail and clearance stripped by the Pentagon.
