ICYMI: Rep. Mace says Biden shouldn't be 'Near Our State Secrets' After Trump Revokes Clearance

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Rep. Nancy Mace Saturday defended President Donald Trump's decision to revoke the security clearances of several political adversaries, including former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris and several Biden administration officials.

During a Fox News interview, Mace celebrated a move that Trump's critics have claimed carried an air of retribution in its approach.

"I would argue being vindictive is trying to prosecute a former President," Mace said, citing Trump's 34 felony convictions in a New York City courtroom. "These people have weaponized America's national security for their far-left interests. And it ends here, and it ends now. ... Joe Biden should not be anywhere near our state secrets."

A presidential memorandum released on Saturday said it was "no longer in the national interest" for the named individuals to have access to classified information. Trump was following up on a promise made in February to strip Biden's security clearance.

Also included in the lengthy list of revocations: Antony Blinken, Jacob Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Andrew Weissmann and Hillary Clinton.

Trump's decision isn't without precedent. Biden ended Trump’s intelligence briefings after Trump helped spur efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and incited the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. At the time, Biden said Trump’s “erratic” behavior should prevent him from getting the intel briefings.

Asked in an interview with CBS News what he feared if Trump continued to receive the briefings, Biden said he did not want to “speculate out loud” but made clear he did not want Trump to continue having access to such information.

“I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings,” Biden said. “What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”

The ramifications of Trump's moves are minimal.

Security clearances for former officials are generally revoked after they leave office unless that individual plans to continue engaging in national security matters.

NPR reported several of the people Trump stripped security clearances from on Saturday hadn't had active clearances for years.

One of the names on the list, Alexander Vindman, a former National Security Council official, chalked up Trump's move as more symbolic than substantive.

"I’m not a weak-kneed billionaire or a massive spineless law firm, so I don’t care what noises [Donald Trump] makes about a security clearance that hasn’t been active for five years," he wrote on social media. "What’s the point of having throw-away money if you can be easily bullied by an empty suit?"

Biden hasn't commented publically on Trump's decision to revoke his security clearance.