Donald Trump relished the idea that his return to the White House would give him the power to take down the “deep state” actors who once opposed him — and almost sent him to prison.
Just hours after he was sworn in as America’s 47th president, his campaign of revenge was underway.
Among the early targets was John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser and one of the president’s fiercest critics. First Bolton’s security clearance was revoked. Trump then ordered the removal of the protective detail assigned to Bolton in 2019 following threats on his life from Iran.
“We won’t have people’s security details for the rest of their lives – why should we? I thought he was a very dumb person,” Trump said Tuesday.
Bolton said he was “disappointed but not surprised”.
This could be just the beginning as Trump moves to crack down on perceived opponents in government, turning targets from intelligence agencies to military, financial and business regulators, and within the law enforcement apparatus itself.
It could mark a new era for the US — and the way it is governed, with favors and punishments doled out at the whim of a leader, not the judgments of career officials guided by the long-accepted rules of their institutions.
For Trump, this is a moment of vindication as he uproots officials who obstructed his agenda during his first term or deepened his legal jeopardy as federal criminal cases mounted against him in 2023.
“Never again will the immense power of the state be used to persecute political opponents,” he said in his inaugural address at the Capitol on Monday.
Hours later, he signed an executive order to “weaponize” the government, authorizing sweeping reviews of US intelligence and other agencies to correct “past misconduct” through “appropriate action.”
“It’s an open-ended, counter-resistance move,” said Yuval Levin, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, referring 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 radical agenda or “reorganize the bureaucracy so that it is more fully at the service of the president.” “. .
Intelligence agencies are a particular focus for Trump. In another executive order signed late Monday, Trump revoked the security clearances of 50 former intelligence officials, alleging they colluded with former President Joe Biden’s campaign to discredit reports about his son’s propensity for scandals, 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 argued for the removal of security clearances to root out the “deep state”.
A former US intelligence official said the move would have a “chilling effect” on the agencies. “This is a clear sign that Trump will use the permits for political reasons. It will make people wary of speaking their minds.”
“Anything that suggests the 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 has also sent a clear message to the Pentagon, where just minutes after his inauguration officials removed a portrait of his former top military adviser — and eventual major critic — retired General Mark Milley. On Monday, Trump also fired Linda Fagan, the commandant of the Coast Guard, with a top official saying she had “over-focused on diversity, equity and inclusion” and mishandled border security.
But Trump’s plans go far beyond America’s security apparatus. The “armament” executive order called for more scrutiny of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, along with other enforcement agencies such as the Justice Department.
Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general, has vowed that “investigators will be investigated” and “bad” prosecutors will be prosecuted.
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“I’m concerned that this authorizes the arming of the government itself against perceived enemies,” said Ryan Goodman, a professor at New York University School of Law.
“Normally there can be nothing wrong with retrospective investigations into possible government wrongdoing,” he added. But this order “is filled with nominees in mind who would enter the government with a list of enemies. 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, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he defeated in the 2024 general election. He has 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 potential key targets like Milley and members of the panel investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol building, including former – the congressman. Liz Cheney, just before she left office.
Trump is also targeting federal workers, vowing to strip employment protections that were strengthened under Biden for tens of thousands of career civil servants in “policy-related” jobs — a way to easily fire government workers who hinder his agenda.
Meanwhile, as he was removing security clearances from his perceived enemies, he issued a separate executive order to immediately grant temporary clearance to “qualified and trusted personnel” of his choosing.
“Our foreign adversaries are salivating over this Trump Executive Order that grants immediate Top Secret clearance to individuals without proper vetting and background checks,” wrote Olivia Troye, a former Trump administration official turned critic of the president. , in X.
