House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer railed against the Trump administration’s announcement that it is considering revoking the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan and other former intelligence officials who have been critical of President Trump, calling it a “totalitarian” response.
Trump is seeking to “establish a more authoritarian regime,” Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters Tuesday.
The White House said Trump is weighing whether or not to revoke clearances for Brennan; Susan Rice, former national security adviser; James Clapper, former director of national intelligence; and former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden. Two of the White House targets mentioned — former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe — appear to no longer have security clearances.
“If Obama had done this with respect to Republicans, the Republicans would’ve been on the ceiling,” Hoyer said.
Hoyer asserted Trump is trying to “distract” from how “poorly” he performed alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last week.
“I would hope the Congress of the United States, if he took any action, would act to counter that,” Hoyer said.
