Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump ended the Secret Service protection for his former national security adviser, John Bolton.
Bolton, who departed the Trump administration in November 2019, required continued Secret Service protection due to threats from Iran. While Trump initially revoked the protection after Bolton’s departure, President Joe Biden reinstated it upon assuming office.
“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has made this decision,” Bolton said in a statement to CNN. “Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to once again extend Secret Service protection to me in 2021.”
“The Justice Department filed criminal charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official in 2022 for attempting to hire a hit man to target me. That threat remains today, as also demonstrated by the recent arrest of someone trying to arrange for President Trump’s own assassination. The American people can judge for themselves which President made the right call.”
Bolton, a senior national security official during the Bush administration, has been a vocal critic of Iran and is well-known for his hardline stance. He opposed the 2015 nuclear agreement, which limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from U.S. sanctions, and urged Trump to exit the deal after taking office.
