The Memo: Trump's risky gambit to strip security from Fauci, Bolton and Pompeo
President Trump has sparked fresh controversy in his first week back in office with his decision to remove security details from several prominent people with whom he has fallen out.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo and Brian Hook all had their government-provided security teams taken away this week.
Fauci led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for almost 40 years, including at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bolton was Trump’s national security adviser, and Pompeo was Trump's secretary of State. Hook was a key Pompeo aide.
All four men have fallen out of favor with Trump, with Bolton in particular now a strident critic of the president.
Fauci wrote a 2024 book that was hardly a full-on takedown of Trump but did refer to the contentious relationship between the two, and what the doctor saw as the president’s blithe “disregard of facts.”
Pompeo mulled running against Trump in the 2024 GOP primary, though he ultimately decided not to do so.
The bottom line is that Trump’s move has stoked suspicions that he is acting out of a desire for retribution.
Those fears are magnified by the president’s shoulder-shrugging response to the potential consequences of his decision.
Speaking to reporters in North Carolina on Friday, Trump said he would not feel a sense of responsibility if any of the people from whom he had pulled security came to harm.
Trump also noted, “You can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you worked for the........
© The Hill
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