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Donald Trump relished the thought that his return to the White House would give him the power to take down the “deep state” actors who once opposed him — and nearly sent him to prison.
Hours after he was sworn in as America’s 47th president, his revenge campaign is underway.
Among the initial targets was John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser and one of the president’s fiercest critics. First, Bolton’s security clearance was revoked. Trump then ordered Bolton’s protective detail removed in 2019 after threats to his life from Iran.
“We won’t have a human security detail for life — why would we? I thought he was a very dumb man,” said Trump tuesday
Bolton said he was “disappointed but not surprised”.
It can only begin as Trump continues to crack down on perceived opponents in government, from intelligence agencies to targeting military, financial and business regulators, and within the law enforcement apparatus itself.
It could usher in a new era for the United States — and the way it is governed, doling out favors and punishments at the whim of a leader, not the judgment of career officials guided by the long-agreed rules of their institutions.
For Trump, it’s a moment of vindication as he weeds out officials who thwarted his agenda in his first term or deepens his legal peril in 2023 due to a federal criminal case against him.
“Never again will the enormous power of the state be turned into a weapon to oppress political opponents,” he said in his inaugural address at the Capitol on Monday.
Hours later, he signed one executive order Regarding the “weaponization” of the government, authorizing a comprehensive review of US intelligence and other agencies to correct “past misconduct” through “appropriate action.”
“It’s an open-ended, counterintuitive move,” said Yuval Levin, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, referring to the order.
He said it is “too early to tell” whether Trump is sending a message to public servants to “stay out of the way” of his radical agenda or to “reorganize the bureaucracy so that it is entirely at the service of the president.” .
Intelligence agencies are a particular focus for Trump. In one of the executive orders signed during Monday night’s explosion, Trump revoked the security clearances of 50 former intelligence officials, claiming they coordinated with former President Joe Biden’s campaign to discredit reports about his scandal-prone son Hunter Biden.
The order echoed language used by Kash Patel, Trump’s controversial pick for FBI chief who is awaiting Senate confirmation.
Patel has long argued for the removal of security clearances to eradicate the “deep state”.
A former US intelligence official said the measure would have a “chilling effect” on agencies. “This is a clear sign that Trump will use the clearance for political reasons. It will warn people to speak their minds.”
“Any suggestion that clearances are being manipulated for political purposes will hurt the credibility of the intelligence community,” said Emily Harding, director of the Intelligence, National Security and Technology Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Trump also sent a clear message to the Pentagon, which removed a portrait of his former top military adviser — and eventual arch critic — retired Gen. Mark Milley minutes after his inauguration. On Monday, Trump also fired Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan, a senior official said she “focused too much on diversity, equity and inclusion” and mishandled border security.
But Trump’s plan goes beyond America’s security system. The executive order on “weaponization” calls for more scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, along with other enforcement agencies such as the Justice Department.
Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney-general, vowed that “investigators will be investigated” and “bad” prosecutors prosecuted.
“I worry that this authorizes the use of weapons by the government itself against perceived enemies,” said Ryan Goodman, a professor at New York University School of Law.
“Normally there may be nothing wrong with a retrospective investigation of possible government wrongdoing,” he added. But this order was made keeping in mind the nominees who would come to the government with a list of enemies. This is a very worrying combination for the country’s democracy.”
Trump has previously called for the prosecution of opponents, including former Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he defeated in the 2024 general election. He also threatened to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” Joe Biden.
Biden himself took the threat — and others — seriously enough to issue pre-emptive pardons to his own family members and members of the panel investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol building, including former congresswomen and top potential targets. . Liz Cheney, just before leaving office.
Trump is also taking aim at federal workers, promising to strip employment protections, which were strengthened under Biden, for hundreds of thousands of career civil servants in “policy-related” jobs — a way to easily fire government workers who deviate from his agenda.
Meanwhile, while he was wresting security clearance from his perceived enemies, he issued a separate executive order to immediately grant temporary clearance to “qualified and trusted personnel” of his choice.
“Our foreign adversaries are salivating over this Trump executive order that grants instant top secret clearance to individuals without proper vetting and background checks,” Olivia Troy, a former Trump administration official turned critic of the president, wrote at X.
