President Donald Trump has recently implemented a policy granting temporary, six-month security clearances to incoming White House officials who have not completed the standard vetting process required to access highly-classified information. This decision has raised concerns among national security lawyers both inside and outside the government, with some describing it as unusual, if not unprecedented.
One former US official who previously worked on clearance issues in the Biden and first Trump administrations expressed worries that foreign intelligence partners may limit the information they share with the US. The concern stems from the fear that sharing sensitive intelligence with individuals who have not undergone thorough vetting could potentially compromise their sources.
President Trump's move to provide high-level clearances, known as TS/SCI, to incoming officials on his first day in office has drawn attention. Some of these officials had not undergone the standard security clearance procedures to identify potential vulnerabilities.
The FBI, responsible for conducting background investigations for security clearances, is currently addressing a backlog of hundreds of applications. Part of the reason for this backlog is attributed to delays in the transition process after the November election, as the necessary agreements were signed about a month later.
In his executive action, President Trump cited the backlog and bureaucratic challenges as reasons for the temporary clearances. He specifically mentioned a backlog created by the Biden Administration in processing security clearances for individuals hired to work in the Executive Office of the President.
As a result of this backlog and the challenges in the security clearance process, individuals who have not received timely clearances are unable to access the White House complex, infrastructure, and technology, thus hindering their ability to carry out their assigned duties.
