Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s security detail revoked

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Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s security detail revoked

The security detail for former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, which was provided by the Defense Department, was revoked Tuesday night, a U.S. official and a Defense Department official told CBS News. 

The Defense Department has not yet responded to a request for comment.

File: Secretary of Defense Mark Esper testifies before the House Armed Services Committee hearing on ‘Department of Defense Authorities and Roles Related to Civilian Law Enforcement’, July 9, 2020 on Capitol Hill.

Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images

Esper is one of the former officials from President Trump’s first administration who has received threats from Iran over the 2020 U.S. killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Quds Force. 

Esper is the latest official from Trump’s first administration to lose government-provided security. Security details for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, his aide Brian Hook and former national security adviser John Bolton were also recently removed. 

Last month, when asked by a reporter about the administration dismissing the security details, Mr. Trump replied, “When you have protection, you can’t have it for the rest of your life.”

He added, “I mean, there’s risks to everything.”  

Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the removal of the diplomatic security detail from both Pompeo and Hook. Bolton was protected by the Secret Service.

The Defense Department removed former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley’s detail on Jan. 28 and revoked his security clearance. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also requested the Defense Department inspector general conduct a review into Milley’s conduct during the first Trump administration to determine whether Milley should be stripped of a star. 

On Inauguration Day, Milley’s official portrait as Joint Chiefs chairman was removed from the walls of the Pentagon. 

Several days later, Esper’s portrait as secretary of the Army and Milley’s portrait as chief of the staff of the Army were also removed. 

Eleanor Watson

Eleanor Watson is a CBS News multi-platform reporter and producer covering the Pentagon.

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