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US President Donald Trump has revoked security clearances for Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, his former rivals for the White House, as he expands his campaign of retribution against political opponents.
Trump announced on Friday night that the former vice-president, and former First Lady and secretary of state, would be included in a list of individuals he wants stripped of access to sensitive government information. He defeated Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and Harris in 2024.
Trump’s list also included Fiona Hill, the Russia expert who has been critical of his stance towards the war in Ukraine both during his first term in office and recently, as he has sought to broker a settlement of the conflict.
“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to have access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a memo to the heads of government agencies.
Trump had already included Joe Biden in the roster of people who should be deprived of security clearances, along with some of the former president’s top aides including Jake Sullivan, the former national security adviser, and Antony Blinken, the former secretary of state.
Trump’s move highlights the extent to which he is using the first months of his second presidency to target political foes. This includes Democrats and also Republicans who have opposed his return to office, such as Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman who was also stripped of her security clearances.
Trump has also targeted Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, and Letitia James, the New York State attorney-general, after they brought legal cases against him, including one that led to his conviction for falsifying business records last year.
The rescission of security clearances for former officials and political foes is the latest instance of Trump gnawing away at the norms of US democracy, including the notion that even political critics of the president might need to access sensitive information.
The move comes amid broader concerns that Trump is testing the limits of his constitutional powers in his efforts to deport and detain certain immigrants, as well as his sweeping drive to gut the federal government with mass firings and spending freezes.
