President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, on Feb. 13. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images file

Through an executive order, Donald Trump stripped the security clearances along with classified documents from fifteen critical political figures, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as multiple Biden administration personnel. President Donald Trump enforced this executive order on March 22, 202,5, as part of his actions since regaining the presidency.

The Executive Order and Its Impact

The given memo establishes that access to classified information no longer serves the national interest of these specific individuals. This order requires executive departments to instantly block access to classified information while restricting the mentioned individuals from visiting protected facilities except when accompanied by personnel.

Among those affected are:

• Kamala Harris (Former Vice President)
• Hillary Clinton (Former Secretary of State)
• Liz Cheney (Former Congresswoman)
• Adam Kinzinger (Former Congressman)
• Antony Blinken (Former Secretary of State)
• Jake Sullivan (Former National Security Adviser)
• Letitia James (New York Attorney General)
• Members of the Biden family

Political and Security Implications

This move emerged after Trump withdrew Biden’s intelligence briefings back in February 2025. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard executed clearance revocation procedures for different Biden administration officials during the early months of 2025 to help fulfil Trump administration efforts to eliminate former government official access.

The former President intends to maintain presidential control over authorities responsible for election manipulation and improper security clearance management through his latest decision. The current government asserts these cleared personnel collaborated in anti-Trump actions or helped expose possible foreign activity in the 2020 presidential race.

Reactions and Controversy

The representatives for Harris and Clinton did not provide statements about the revocations. The decision received strong opposition from political figures who charged the Trump administration with utilising security measures to target political opponents. Soft challenges have emerged in applying a general security clearance revocation directive across persons who continue to uphold their security responsibilities.

Other Related Actions

This executive order establishes the second time Trump has taken such an action. As January 2025 arrived, Trump took away security clearance from over 50 former intelligence officers who had published an evaluation of Hunter Biden’s laptop searching for Russian disinformation elements in 2020.

Reflecting on the updated security policies of his administration, Trump terminated Secret Service protection for Hunter Biden and his wife Ashley the previous week.

The revocation enactment prohibits these affected people from obtaining classified intelligence and denies them access to sensitive government information. The legal challenges alongside political grievances for this move are expected to intensify since opponents maintain that this action destabilises both national security practices and traditional presidential traditions.

The aggressive approach of President Trump during his second term demonstrates new aggressive behaviour toward political adversaries as he restricts their access to government information after leaving office.