Trump Administration Revokes Security Clearances of 37 Officials – Here’s Why

The Trump administration has announced that it was revoking security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials, in what many see as a politically motivated move targetting federal intelligence workers, according to a CNN report published on Tuesday.

The Official Reason Given

According to the report, a memo from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused the individuals of engaging in “politicisation or weaponisation of intelligence” for personal or partisan reasons. The memo, without providing evidence, also cited security lapses including failure to safeguard classified information and ignoring “professional analytic tradecraft standards.”

Who Was Targetted?

Many of those affected by the move had left the administration years ago after serving in various national security roles, the report said. A number of them were allegedly involved in the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election in Trump’s favour. Others had signed a 2019 letter critical of Trump, which was recently highlighted on social media by Trump’s right-wing ally Laura Loomer.

Legal and Political Reactions

Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer whose clearance was also revoked by the Trump administration, called the revocations “unlawful and unconstitutional” and told CNN that it’s hypocritical of Trump team to accuse others of politicising intelligence.

“These are unlawful and unconstitutional decisions that deviate from well-settled, decades-old laws and policies that sought to protect against just this type of action,” Zaid reportedly said.

Gabbard defended the move on social media platform X, stating, “Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right. Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath to the Constitution and put their own interests ahead of the American people have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold.”

The Bigger Context: Russia, Politics and Security Clearances

The latest crackdown is part of a broader Trump effort to challenge the 2017 intelligence community’s findings on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Multiple investigations confirmed Russia’s role in hacking Democratic emails and running social media campaigns to influence voters, but Trump has consistently denied these reports.

Security clearances, the report said, affect not just current government workers but also former officials who need them for private-sector jobs requiring access to classified information. It remains unclear how many out of those 37 individuals still require their clearances.

Trump had previously revoked clearances of more than 40 officials who signed a 2020 letter calling the Hunter Biden laptop story a likely Russian operation. He had also stripped clearances from former president Joe Biden and former VP Kamala Harris and sought to revoke those of lawyers at major law firms. However, federal courts eventually blocked those efforts.

According to the report, some of those being targetted in the latest revocation were part of Biden’s national security team. 

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