Putting America First Means Protecting American Officials
Removing security protection from endangered former government officials out of personal animus is wrong.
The first days of the new Trump administration have been a whirlwind of activity. Executive orders have been signed, appointments have been made, rallies have been held, and Biden-era policies have been reversed. As in any such rapid-fire environment, there are both good and bad outcomes. Much has been made of the focus on immigration, from deportations and policy changes to the unilateral re-interpretation of the 14th amendment on birthright citizenship. Likewise, many of the hearings for Cabinet appointees have been heavily covered in the media, alongside the executive orders on federal government diversity initiatives and the (illegal) un-banning of TikTok. But one set of executive policies that has drawn less scrutiny could make a very significant long-term impact: the removal of federal protection from certain former public officials.
Over the past few days, President Trump has ordered the end to government security details for a variety of ex-government officials, all of whom served under Trump during his first term in office. These decisions are legally within the right of the executive branch to make, but they are seemingly being done entirely in a fit of personal pique. Three key former national security officials have had their protective details revoked: National Security Advisor John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Pompeo’s top aide Brian Hook. Threats of harm are nothing new for political figures, but those made against these former officials are worse in two important respects: the credibility and origin of the threats. The bar to issue a death threat in the days of ubiquitous internet and social media is extremely low; one need not threaten someone in person or even via mail, but merely post their threat online. In short, not all death threats are equal. And in this case, the threats are highly credible, backed by a foreign government, and getting worse.
These former Trump officials were the key actors – besides the president himself – in implementing the highly successful maximum pressure strategy against Iran, culminating in the killing of the terrorist mastermind and IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. Since then, the Islamic Republic has made it official policy to assassinate these men as revenge, offering bounties and even getting so far as to have charges filed against foreign plotters by American authorities. The threat to the former Trump national security team is real and it comes straight from the mouths of the mullahs in Tehran. The fact that this threat emanates from a foreign adversary makes it all the more serious. The only reason these men are being targeted is that they faithfully executed the policies of the government they served, a government run by Donald Trump. And now, the only reason they are losing their much-needed protective detail is because they have fallen out of favor with the president they served.
Trump himself claimed that those who had their protective details ended can simply pay for private security, but this is inadequate. Federal protection is best suited to counter the danger, as it can more easily interface with law enforcement, is privy to the latest intelligence on the Iranian plots, and is capable of dealing with foreign governmental threats better than private security. And, again, it is precisely the Trump policies these men implemented that has led to these threats on their life; it is only fair that the same government would protect them from harm resulting from that service. If a former American government official is murdered by a foreign adversary on US soil, that is an unambiguous act of war and would invite a massive retaliation against the attacker. In this respect, maintaining protection for these three is a deterrent to a wider conflict with Iran, something Trump has sought to avoid.
There is no national security purpose in ending the security details for Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, or Brian Hook. In fact, the opposite is true. These men served their country – and President Trump – faithfully and now face grave external danger because of it. President Trump should put aside his petty personal vendetta against these men and focus on putting America first. That means preventing foreign assaults on former government officials, regardless of their party affiliation, personal opinions, or political actions. Faithfully carrying out the orders of a president should not make one a target of foreign aggression. But in the rare cases that it does, as it has here, the government that put them in danger should protect them from it. Anything less would be a betrayal.