Trump Defends Decision To Pull Security Detail For Ex-aides

President Donald Trump defended his decision to revoke the security detail of some of his former top advisers — including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — despite concern of ongoing threats against them from Iran.

John Bolton, who was Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, said earlier this week that Trump had revoked his security detail, and The New York Times reported Thursday that the president has also taken away details for both Pompeo and Brian Hook, a senior aide to Pompeo.

“When you have protection you can't have it for the rest of your life, do you want to have a large detail of people guarding people for the rest of their lives?” Trump told reporters in a press conference at the Oval Office on Thursday.

Two people familiar with the decision — granted anonymity to discuss sensitive decisions — confirmed to POLITICO that Pompeo’s security detail has been pulled back. A Pompeo spokesperson declined to comment, and Hook did not respond to a request for comment. POLITICO has not independently confirmed Hook’s security arrangements, but the president did not dispute that he had pulled it Thursday.

Trump had previously signed an executive order during his first day in office revoking the clearances of 49 former intelligence officials — while also singling out Bolton. Bolton said he had his security detail pulled on Tuesday, after he’d been under Secret Service protection for fear of retaliation over his hawkish views on Iran.

Both Pompeo and Hook have also been under protection for their hard-line, “maximum pressure” approach on Iran during Trump’s first term. During that term, the U.S. launched an airstrike that killed the leader of Iran’s paramilitary forces, Qassem Soleimani. The Biden administration had continued to grant security protections to the two former Trump officials because of the ongoing threat.

Federal prosecutors also alleged late last year that the Iranian government had ordered an operative to assassinate Trump before the 2024 election.

But Trump backed his decision, stating, “There’s risks to everything.”

Trump has been vocal about Pompeo not having a place in his administration. Hook had been set to work with Trump’s transition, POLITICO previously reported, but stopped being involved after the election, and Trump publicly fired him from his presidential appointment at the Wilson International Center for Scholars, a Washington think tank.