Sen. Mark Warner says Trump decision to remove security detail for former officials is “all about retribution”

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Sen. Mark Warner says Trump decision to remove security detail for former officials is “all about retribution”

Washington — Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said Sunday that President Trump’s decision to remove security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley is “all about retribution.”

“This is all about retribution, and he’s putting people’s lives in danger, which is just unbelievable,” Warner said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

Since Mr. Trump took office last month, his administration has revoked the federal security details of Pompeo and Milley, along with former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, former Trump special envoy on Iran Brian Hook and Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who formerly served alongside Warner on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said when asked about Pompeo on Megyn Kelly’s podcast last week that Mr. Trump has the authority to make the decisions, noting that there’s a “process that exists for assessing threat versus cost.” 

Sen. Mark Warner on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 2, 2025.

CBS News

Diplomatic security protection for a number of former officials were repeatedly renewed during the Biden administration amid ongoing threats from the Iranian regime against officials who had served during Mr. Trump’s first administration, CBS News has previously reported. 

Asked Sunday whether the Iranian threat to assassinate former U.S. officials had gone away, Warner, now the Senate Intelligence Committee vice chairman, said he has “seen no intelligence that would indicate that that threat has been diminished.” And he stressed that he and his now-partner on the committee, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, have “seen nothing to indicate less threat.”

“I wish more people would stand up,” Warner added. 

Kaia Hubbard

Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.

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