When President Trump took office in 2016, there were a lot of people in Washington who had a vested interest in the President not being able to accomplish all of his goals. Some agencies made sure that he did not have the people around him that he chose. One way that was done was to slow-walk the security clearances for the people President Trump wanted working in the White House.

On Monday, The Conservative Treehouse reported the following:

It should not come as a surprise to see the same methods deployed against President Trump in 2024 that were used by the FBI in 2016. The difference is now that President Trump understands the full power of his office in the security clearance process and that he doesn’t need the FBI.

In 2016 the FBI used their power to conduct security clearances as a tool to stall and block President Trump appointments. Historically this is one of the ways a very corrupt and political FBI interfere in any system that might be against the interests of the Intelligence Community that controls them. However, in 2024 President-Elect Trump and his transition team have already taken a different approach.

The article explains that the Trump transition team is using private companies to vet administrative appointees in order to avoid bureaucratic slowdowns.

The article concludes:

Because President Trump is making civics great again, it’s worth reminding everyone that President Trump has unilateral decision-making authority to grant anyone a security clearance. The President (atop the executive) can give anyone he chooses a top-secret security clearance status, simply by saying this person has top-secret security clearance. Yes, it really is that easy.

The President can choose his advisors and choose to share anything – even the most top-secret information in the country – with his advisors and cabinet members. That’s what we elect him/her to do; to use his/her judgement to make decisions.

This is one of the powers within the office that cannot be challenged by any other silo, branch or institution. The security clearance rules are what President Trump says the security clearance rules are.

There is no outside silo in the Executive Branch, who can supersede the decision of President Trump.

Experience is the best teacher. How do you get experience? By making mistakes. In this case, in 2016 President Trump believed that Washington could work together for the good of the country. Now he knows better. That is a sad statement about our government.