Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., is putting his weight behind an amendment being pushed by the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee that seeks to prevent President Trump from revoking security clearances in political retribution.
“Pleased to cosponsor this amendment. Granting/revoking security clearances should not be a political exercise,” Flake, who is retiring after this term, wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
Pleased to cosponsor this amendment. Granting/revoking security clearances should not be a political exercise. https://t.co/RmOwJtOhAY
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) August 22, 2018
“I think being conservative means not wanting to amass power in any one institution or individual, and this basically takes us back to where we were in the 1990s, which was a better place, I think, in terms of security clearances,” Flake told reporters, according to the Hill.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., thanked Flake, a frequent Trump critic, for supporting the amendment to the appropriations bill being considered by the Senate, which Warner filed on Monday.
“We can’t just sit by as the President abuses this vital national security tool to punish his critics,” he tweeted.
Thank you, @JeffFlake, for cosponsoring this amendment. We can’t just sit by as the President abuses this vital national security tool to punish his critics. https://t.co/ErLa4C3ZBq
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) August 22, 2018
The language of the amendment would stop funding from being used to grant, deny, or revoke access, or eligibility for access, to classified information unless it is done in accordance with the law. The amendment has long odds at being attached to the funding bill given complicated parliamentary procedures.
Trump triggered bipartisan backlash last week when he pulled former CIA Director John Brennan’s clearance over alleged “erratic” behavior. Brennan, an MSNBC commentator, has used his public platform to scrutinize Trump, describing the president as “abnormal.
