Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., has co-sponsored legislation codifying the FBI's role in providing security clearances to White House appointees. Alex Wong / Getty Images
New bill would require FBI recommendation on security clearances for White House appointees
The Security Clearance Review Act — cosponsored by Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., would require the president to provide Congress with written justification for overruling an FBI clearance denial of executive office appointees.
New House legislation seeks to curb President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed efforts to sidestep background checks of his political appointees by requiring the FBI to make assessments and recommendations on security clearances.
Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., introduced the Security Clearance Review Act on Tuesday, which would call on the FBI director to make the final determination on whether an appointee to the Executive Office of the President may receive a security clearance or be able to receive classified information.
Under the legislation, if the FBI were to deny, suspend or revoke a security clearance, it would have to make a written recommendation to the president — and notify the House and Senate Intelligence, Oversight and Judiciary Committees’ chairmen and ranking members — of the decision.
The president may still seek to overrule the FBI’s decision, but would have to provide the congressional committees with a written justification for the decision no less than 30 days after it was made.
The bill follows reports that President-elect Trump may not use the FBI to screen potential appointees during the transition and instead would utilize a private firm to conduct background checks.
“During his first presidency, Donald Trump secretly gave favored staffers and family members access to our most sensitive classified information despite serious objections raised by career staff and his own Chief of Staff,” said Beyer, in a statement. “Early signs suggest he will be even more brazen in subverting the integrity of the security clearance process in his second term. Congress must not allow corruption to threaten our national security.”
The legislation is not the first salvo between members of Congress and the impending Trump administration over security clearances. In 2019, Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced the Integrity in Security Clearance Determinations Act, which proposed that security clearance decisions be based on “published criteria” and would prevent the president from revoking them “based on the exercise of constitutional rights, such as the right to freely express political views, or for purposes of political retaliation” after Trump rescinded the security clearance of former CIA director, and administration critic, John Brennan.
Referred to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the bill never made it to a floor vote.
Beyer and Lieu had also previously raised concerns about reports that then-President Trump had overruled intelligence agencies’ recommendation not to provide his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner with a full security clearance. Trump denied interfering in the security clearance process.
The Security Clearance Review Act has been referred to the House Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary committees.