President Donald Trump engaged in a bit of political payback on Friday against former President Joe Biden.
In an announcement on Trump’s Truth Social platform, the president announced he was pulling daily intelligence briefings for Biden after determining that the former president’s alleged state of mind makes him a national security risk. He has also revoked the 46th president’s security clearance.
“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings,” Trump wrote, adding that Biden did the same to him shortly after he took office.
“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents,” Trump continued.
“The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information. I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he added.
Special Counsel Robert Hur submitted a report on Biden’s alleged improper retention of classified records, which highlighted the former president’s frequent memory lapses and contradicted his earlier claims.
In March, Hur testified that he found evidence suggesting that “pride and money” were factors motivating Biden to retain classified documents. Despite these findings, Hur did not recommend criminal charges against the then-sitting president, Fox News noted.
Meanwhile, Federal Election Commission Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub on Thursday refused to leave her post after she received a letter from Trump telling her she was fired. Weintraub took to social media to share the letter and claims she is not leaving her position because she claims the notice isn’t legal.
“Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner & Chair of @FEC,” Weintraub said in a post on X. “There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn’t it. I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon.”
Weintraub showed the letter in her social media post. “You are hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately,” the White House letter dated Jan. 31 says. “Thank you for your service on the Commission.”
Weintraub is one of three Democrat members of the FEC. There are two Republicans and one seat is open.
The action was widely denounced by Democrats, and shortly after Weintraub posted the letter, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) responded.
“Trump’s political purge continues with this illegal dismissal of Democrat Ellen Weintraub from the FEC,” he stated on X.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has spearheaded a significant amount of government reforms, with the goal of drastically reducing government expenditures. As a result, it is believed that numerous federal government jobs will be eliminated in the upcoming months.
Also this week, two Democrats — Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) — unexpectedly stormed into House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office, challenging him over Musk’s access to a Treasury Department payment system.
Their intrusion occurred soon after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived at the speaker’s office to discuss how to carry out the president’s tax agenda amid a growing Democratic backlash against Musk’s cost-cutting purges.
Moore, however, claimed that when she and Chu confronted Johnson, Bessent was not present, Politico reported.
“Gwen Moore forced her way in there, and then I got to go in right behind her,” Chu told reporters. “And she was already confronting Speaker Johnson about Treasury Secretary Bessent and the stealing of Americans’ private information, tax information that should never be stolen and given to this billionaire Elon Musk.”
Musk’s team currently has “read-only” access to the system.