President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden are pictured in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. Credit – Melina Mara—AP
President Donald Trump has made good on his promise of revoking security clearance for former President Joe Biden. Issued late on Friday night, a memo titled “Rescinding Security Clearances and Access to Classified Information from Specified Individuals,” laid out Trump’s instructions for Biden, several members of the Biden Administration, and other political rivals to have their security clearances rescinded.
Trump determined it was “no longer in the national interest” for said individuals to still hold “any active security clearance” or “unescorted” access to government facilities. “This action includes, but is not limited to, receipt of classified briefings, such as the President’s Daily Brief, and access to classified information held by any member of the Intelligence Community by virtue of the named individuals’ previous tenure in the Congress,” the memo reads.
The action was applied to Biden and “any other member of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s family.” Joining the former President on the list was his former Vice President, and Trump’s one-time opponent in the 2024 presidential election, Kamala Harris. Trump’s 2016 opponent and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also listed, alongside former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former National Security Advisor Jacob Sullivan, and former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
In addition, New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg—both of whom prosecuted Trump—as well as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, Republicans and former Representatives who served on the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, were added to the list of people who will have such privileges rescinded.
The memo also includes whistleblower lawyer Mark Zaid and Fiona Hill, Trump’s former Russian analyst who testified during Trump’s first impeachment hearing. Norman Eisen, an attorney leading various lawsuits against the Trump Administration, and former National Security Council official Alexander Vindman also joined attorney Andrew Weissmann and Alexander Vindman, the former Director for European Affairs, on the list.
In an emailed statement sent to TIME, Zaid says: “There are many of us who will not be bullied or intimidated, notwithstanding the continued attacks on lawyers.”
“Lawyers are the first line of defense against authoritarianism, which is why Shakespeare’s “Dick the Butcher” [character] wants to kill us in Henry VI [Part 2]” he says. “It looks like President Trump has found a more effective way of eliminating those he fears might challenge him.”
Meanwhile, Vindman responded to the memo via social media, saying: “I’m not a weak-kneed billionaire or a massive spineless law firm, so I don’t care what noises Donald Trump makes about a security clearance that hasn’t been active for five years.”
Some of the names included in Trump’s memo had also seemingly already had their security clearances revoked earlier this month by the newly-instated Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
What does “security clearance” mean?
Security clearance, according to the State Department, is a determination of whether an individual has access “to classified national security information.” For some government employees, levels of access to this information is determined by their job functions via a formal security clearance process and vetting actions.
For the President, Vice President, and members of Congress, their election alone affords them major security clearance privileges, rather than vetting.
According to Congress, there are three different levels of security clearance, including “confidential,” “secret,” and “top secret.”
Former Presidents and other previously-serving officials are often given access to classified information as a courtesy, even after they leave office. In 2021, though, Biden took away Trump’s security clearance—citing what he said was Trump’s “erratic behavior” around the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Trump had earlier announced his intention to revoke Biden’s security clearance on Feb. 7, posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, about his decision. “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings,” Trump said. “I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED.”
Meanwhile, on March 17, Trump announced he was revoking Secret Service protection for Biden’s adult children, and earlier this year, the Administration reportedly took away security details for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Brooklyn Law School professor Heidi Gilchrist, a former CIA analyst and expert on national security, says that for some in government, losing security clearance means “losing your livelihood,” and government officials may well begin thinking about the potential political fallout of their actions with the President.
She notes that Trump does have “broad authority” as President to revoke clearances, but believes that there is a “strong argument here” that the First Amendment is being violated by revoking clearance for political opponents. In fact, she believes there may even be an “opening” for the courts to get involved.
“Courts generally will not review security clearance decisions, as they just defer to the executive branch in matters of national security,” Gilchrist says. “But this [instance] is not based on any sort of national security expertise or rationale… this could be a clear opening for courts to review clearance decisions which they’ve stayed away from in the past.”
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