Don Beyer and Ted Lieu have introduced legislation in Congress to reform the process by which security clearances are approved for political appointees in the Executive Office of the President.
You can guess why. Donald Trump, gearing up for Trump Administration 2.0, is saying he wants to bypass the traditional background checks to grant security clearances to political appointees.
The Security Clearance Review Act would codify the FBI’s role in conducting background check investigations for EOP employees, and require congressional notifications in cases where the President overrules the FBI on granting such employees access to classified information.
It has no chance, of course, in a Republican-majority House, but anyway, they’re trying.
How it would work
The Security Clearance Review Act would require the FBI to make a written recommendation to the President that an individual flagged by the White House security office be denied final approval to receive a security clearance.
That recommendation would be accompanied by notifications to the Chair and Ranking Member of House and Senate Intelligence, Oversight, and Judiciary Committees.
In compliance with Article II of the Constitution, the President would have the ability to overrule such a recommendation and grant approval to persons so flagged, but the legislation would require that such a decision be justified to Congress in writing.
What they’re saying
“During his first presidency, Donald Trump secretly gave favored staffers and family members access to our most sensitive classified information despite serious objections raised by career staff and his own Chief of Staff. Early signs suggest he will be even more brazen in subverting the integrity of the security clearance process in his second term,” said Rep. Beyer, D-Va.
“Congress must not allow corruption to threaten our national security. The Security Clearance Review Act would prevent untrustworthy people with major security concerns from secretly being given access to our most sensitive intelligence ever again, adding crucial Congressional oversight to the process,” Beyer said.
“Individuals advising the President must be trustworthy public servants,” said Rep. Lieu, D-Calif. “In his first term in the White House, President Donald Trump appointed members of his own family to senior staff positions over the objections of then-Chief of Staff John Kelly. Not only is this practice an abuse of the security clearance process that many government employees are subject to, it poses serious risks to our nation’s safety and security.
“The Security Clearance Review Act would ensure that appointees in the Executive Office of the President are properly vetted and prevent untrustworthy individuals from gaining access to sensitive intelligence information,” Lieu said.
Full text of the Security Clearance Review Act is available here.
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Chris Graham
