'Deeply frustrated': Tulsi Gabbard's move to strip 37 officials of clearance raises alarm in Trump admin - Report

Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, triggered turmoil inside the administration after revoking the security clearances of 37 officials without first informing the White House, the Guardian reported. The decision, taken last month, blindsided senior aides because there was no directive from the president on record and no opportunity to review the names before they were stripped of their access. According to three people familiar with the matter, the list included senior CIA figures, congressional staffers, and advisers involved in some of the US’s most sensitive military and intelligence operations.

Among those affected were Maher Bitar, national security adviser to Democratic senator Adam Schiff, and Thomas West, an aide on the Senate foreign relations committee. Their inclusion prompted fears the administration could become entangled in a separation-of-powers dispute with Congress. The Guardian said officials only discovered the scale of the revocations after they had already been executed, deepening existing tensions between Gabbard and the CIA, whose officers produce the intelligence briefings she oversees. Several Trump advisers are said to remain “deeply frustrated”, viewing the episode as a major misstep at a time when Trump has suggested dismantling the Office of the Director of National Intelligence altogether.

In August, the administration publicly framed the move as part of a broader crackdown on officials accused of “politicising or weaponising intelligence”. A memo issued by Gabbard accused those targeted of failing to protect classified material and of acting in ways “detrimental” to national security, though it offered no evidence. Many of the individuals had long been out of government service, with some having worked on the 2016 assessment that concluded Russia interfered in the election to aid Trump – a finding the former president has repeatedly rejected.

Gabbard defended the action on social media, insisting it was carried out under Trump’s direction. “Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right,” she wrote on X. “Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath … have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold.” A senior intelligence official told the Guardian that Gabbard had briefed Trump directly, saying those involved in the Russia assessments should be removed if they still held federal positions. The official also claimed the list was circulated to senior White House staff and agency chiefs, though others dispute this.