Donald Trump relished the idea that his return to the White House would give him the power to oust representatives of the “deep state” who once opposed him — and nearly sent him to prison.
Just hours after he was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, his revenge campaign was underway.
Among the early targets was John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser and one of the president's harshest critics. Bolton's first security clearance was revoked. Trump then ordered the removal of Bolton's protective detail in 2019 after threats to his life from Iran.
“We're not going to have people security guarded for the rest of their lives – why would we do that? I thought he was a very stupid person,” he said. Trump Tuesday.
Bolton said he was “disappointed but not surprised.”
This may be just the beginning as Trump moves to crush perceived opponents in government, focusing on targets ranging from intelligence agencies to the military, financial and business regulators, and within law enforcement itself.
This may represent a new era for the United States – and the way it governs, in which favor and punishment are doled out according to the whims of the leader, not the judgments of career officials guided by the long-agreed rules of their institutions.
For Trump, it is a moment of vindication as he rootes out officials who thwarted his agenda during his first term or deepened the legal danger he faces as federal criminal cases against him mount in 2023.
“The overwhelming power of the state will never again be used as a weapon to persecute political opponents,” he said in his inauguration speech at the Capitol on Monday.
Hours later, he signed on Executive order On “weaponizing” the government, and allowing comprehensive reviews of US intelligence and other agencies to correct “past misconduct” through “appropriate action.”
“It's an open, anti-resistance move,” Yuval Levin, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said in reference to the order.
He said it was “too early to tell” whether Trump was simply sending a message to civil servants to “stay out of the way” of his extremist agenda or to “rearrange the bureaucracy so that it is more fully at the service of the president.” .
Intelligence agencies are a particular focus of Trump's interest. In another executive order signed during the attack Monday night, Trump stripped the security clearances of 50 former intelligence officials, alleging they coordinated with former President Joe Biden's campaign to discredit reports on his scandal-prone son Hunter Biden.
The order echoed language used by Kash Patel, Trump's controversial pick to head the FBI who is awaiting Senate confirmation.
Patel has long advocated removing security clearances to eliminate 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 permits for political reasons. This will make people wary of expressing their opinions.”
“Anything that suggests clearances are being manipulated for political purposes will damage trust with 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, where a few minutes after his inauguration officials removed a photo of his former top military adviser — and eventual arch critic — of retired Gen. Mark Milley. On Monday, Trump also fired Linda Fagan, the commander of the Coast Guard, with a senior official saying she was “overly focused on diversity, equity and inclusion” and had mishandled border security.
But Trump's plans go beyond the US security services. The “weaponization” executive order called for greater scrutiny at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, along with other enforcement agencies such as the Department of Justice.
Pam Bondi, Trump's pick for attorney general, pledged that investigators would be “investigated” and “bad” prosecutors would be prosecuted.
“I'm concerned that this allows the government itself to use weapons against perceived enemies,” said Ryan Goodman, a professor at New York University School of Law.
He added: “Normally there would be nothing wrong with conducting retrospective investigations into potential government wrongdoing.” But this was “prepared keeping in mind the candidates who will enter the government with an enemy list. This is a very worrying combination for the state of democracy in the country.”
Trump has previously called for the prosecution of opponents, including Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, 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 this threat — and others — seriously enough to issue preemptive pardons to members of his family and top potential targets like Milley and members of the committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, including the former congresswoman. Liz Cheney, before he left office.
Trump is also targeting federal employees, vowing to strip employment protections, strengthened under Biden, for tens of thousands of civil servants working in “politically-related” jobs — a way to easily fire government employees who reject his agenda.
At the same time, while stripping his potential opponents of security clearances, he issued a separate executive order immediately granting temporary clearances to “qualified and trusted personnel” of his choosing.
“Our foreign adversaries are salivating over Trump’s executive order granting top-secret spot clearance to individuals without proper vetting and background checks,” Olivia Troye, a former Trump administration official turned critic of the president, wrote on X.
