Donald Trump Strips Security Protection from Ex-Officials Who Spoke Out Against Him Despite Active Assassination Threats
Three former White House officials just had their security details revoked at a critical time when they are believed to be in danger
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Donald Trump on his first day in office Jan. 20, 2025.President Donald Trump has rescinded the security details of three former White House colleagues — all of whom face international threats for the work they did on Trump's behalf, The New York Times reports.
Trump's former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former U.S. representative for Iran Brian Hook, and former national security adviser John Bolton each played roles in a 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Since then, the men have reportedly faced continued threats from Iran.
Bolton was the target of a murder plot by a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2022 — presumably out of retribution for Soleimani's death. On Jan. 22, he told the Times that "two separate government agencies called" and said "the threat level remains the same" as two years prior.
Related: The FBI Is Searching for an Alleged Iranian Assassin Reportedly Targeting Trump-Era Officials
Iran's threats are also pointed at Trump himself, though as president he enjoys an extensive Secret Service detail.
In November, for example, the Justice Department brought charges against a man whom prosecutors accused of being hired by Iran to kill Trump.
Related: Iranian Leaders Promise 'Revenge' Against U.S. After Airstrikes Kill Top Military Official
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Donald Trum at a 2018 NATO summit with Mike Pompeo and John Bolton behind himFormer President Joe Biden was aware of the threats against Bolton, Pompeo and Hook, and the three men's security teams were granted by the Biden administration.
The Associated Press reported that a former senior official in the Biden administration — who spoke on the condition of anonymity — said the Trump administration was also made aware of the "active threats" against the men.
The former Biden official added that they considered Trump's decision to revoke protection "highly irresponsible."
Amid the threats from Iran during Biden's presidency, the Democrat's White House aides issued a warning to Iranian officials that killing a former U.S. government official would be understood as an act of war.
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President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on June 2, 2023Only former presidents and their spouses are guaranteed protection after leaving public office. Thus, Pompeo, Hook and Bolton are not entitled to protection even in the midst of active danger.
Bolton left Trump's first administration in 2019 on bad terms, and since then he's been vocal in his opposition to Trump — including writing a tell-all book about his time in the White House.
Following the news that his security detail had been revoked in the first days of Trump's second term, Bolton shared that he was "disappointed but not surprised."
"Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden's national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to extend that protection to me in 2021," Bolton wrote in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Related: John Bolton Implies Donald Trump Spends More Time Watching TV Than He Does in the Oval Office
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Brian Hook and Mike Pompeo.Trump also recently turned against Pompeo, publicly stating that his former secretary of state would have no role in his second administration, despite Pompeo largely continuing to align himself with his former boss.
Pompeo has, on a few occasions, taken jabs at Trump — including one instance in 2023 when he said that the Republican Party should move away from "celebrity leaders" with "fragile egos," as Axios reported. Still, Pompeo endorsed Trump in 2024 and spoke at the Republican National Convention.
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Hook served under Pompeo in Trump's first term, and later served the Wilson Center for Scholars during Biden's presidency.
Hours after Trump's inauguration on Monday, the new president publicly fired Hook over social media, in the same breath as three other Biden appointees, writing that they were "not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again."
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