joe Biden:

“There is no need for joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday.

Other notable Persons to lose their security clearances include former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

What is a security clearance?

A formal security clearance is needed by most Americans to access classified information or secured facilities. The specifics of what such a clearance entails varies depending on the nature of the information that a person needs access to, and includes things such as background checks, interviews, and in certain cases, a polygraph test.

The idea is to determine whether or not an individual can be entrusted with sensitive information. The government wants to ensure you are “reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and loyal to the United States,” the website of the US Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency says.

Who needs a security clearance?

Security clearances can be issued to a wide range of persons including:

Federal employees: Especially those working in the Department of Defense, the Department of State, intelligence agencies like the CIA and NSA, and other departments dealing with national security matters.

Military personnel: Especially those in positions involving national defense strategies, intelligence operations, and with access to classified military technologies.

Private contractors: Those working for the US government — whether it be in defense, technology, any manner of consulting — in areas which required access to classified information.

Government agency employees: Especially those who are involved in policy-making, and have access to sensitive information.

What are the different levels of security clearance in the US?

The level of clearance granted reflects the level of classified information an individual is permitted to access. Classification essentially prevents unathorised disclosure of sensitive information that could harm national security, diplomatic relations, military operations, or the safety of government personnel.

01Confidential

This is the most basic level of security clearance — information at this level could “potentially damage national security” if disclosed without authorisation. A confidential clearance requires the individual concerned to fill up a questionnaire dating back seven years into her record. Such a clearance is largely an administrative process, and needs to be reissued every 15 years.

02

Secret

A secret clearance is required to access information whose unauthorised disclosure could “cause serious damage to national security”. Such a clearance needs to be re-issued every 10 years, and is like in the case of confidential clearances, the process is largely automated. Only around 25% of secret clearance applications require additional field work by a background investigator, to investigate issues such as prior drug use or financial problems, according to career website Clearancejobs.com.

03

Top secret

This is the highest rung on the clearance ladder, and pertains to individuals dealing with information whose unauthorised disclosure could cause “exceptionally grave damage to national security”. Eligibility is reevaluated at this clearance level every 5 years, and unlike the other two clearances which are most often granted in a matter of weeks, top secret clearance typically takes between six and 18 months to adjudicate.

This is done on the basis of what is known as a Single Scope Background Investigation in which investigators or agents personally interview past employers, coworkers and other individuals associated with the individual concerned, review previous background checks, credit history of the individual and close family, among other things.

What kind of security clearance does the President have?

Technically, none. As an article in NPR said, “for the President, Vice President, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, and other government official positions outlined in the Constitution” access to classified material is not determined “by a federal investigator, but rather by election or appointment”.

The sitting President has access to nearly all of the country’s secrets, as well as the powers to classify and declassify material as she deems fit. The major exception in this regard is nuclear information, which can only be declassified by Congress through the enactment of a specific law.

But since the President does not receive a formal security clearance — one which entails background checks and interviews — her access to classified material officially expires once she leaves office. That said, there has long been a tradition of sitting Presidents maintaining former Presidents’ access, as a matter of courtesy, especially on matters in which they were personally involved.

For instance, in 2011, then President Barack Obama called former President George W Bush to personally convey information regarding the killing of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 terror attacks that had rocked New York in 2001, while Bush was in office.

However, this tradition was broken in 2021 by Biden, who barred his predecessor Trump from accessing intelligence briefings, citing Trump’s “erratic behavior”. While responding in kind in 2025, Trump accused Biden of “set[ting] this precedent”, and said that he “could not be trusted with sensitive information” due to his poor memory.

Read More: 

The World Congress on Translational Cancer Research discusses innovative cancer treatments,