Donald Trump withdraws Secret Service protection from Kamala Harris

Donald Trump has adopted another measure against one of his political opponents: The U.S. president has canceled the Secret Service detail assigned to former vice president Kamala Harris, according to a letter leaked to several U.S. media outlets. “You are hereby authorized to discontinue any security-related procedures previously authorized by Executive Memorandum, beyond those required by law, for the following individual, effective September 1, 2025: Former Vice President Kamala D. Harris,” reads the memorandum sent by the White House to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, dated Thursday.

Secret Service agents protecting the former Democratic presidential candidate will cease to do so as of next Monday, according to the letter.

It is customary practice to maintain an official escort for U.S. vice presidents for up to six months after leaving office. But Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, had extended that protection until January 2026, according to sources cited by Reuters. “The vice president is grateful to the U.S. Secret Service for its professionalism, dedication and ongoing commitment to her safety,” said Kirsten Allen, an adviser to Harris, in response to the move.

The abrupt cancellation of Harris’ security detail comes as the former vice president is about to launch a tour in September of 15 cities across the U.S. to promote her new memoir, 107 Days, in which she recounts her experiences during last year’s election campaign.

The former number two in the U.S. government — the first woman and the first African American to hold that position — announced last month that she would not run for governor of California in next year’s election, when Gavin Newsom’s term expires. That announcement has been interpreted as a hint that Harris could run again as a Democratic presidential candidate in the 2028 election.

The former vice president is not the first person to have their security detail canceled by Trump for no apparent reason other than deep political and personal antipathy. In March, the Republican ordered the removal of the security detail protecting Hunter and Ashley Biden, the children of the former Democratic president.

Even earlier, shortly after being sworn in on January 20 this year, the president also ordered the removal of police protection for a number of former advisers who have criticized him, including his former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and his former national security adviser, John Bolton.

The measures against Bolton did not stop there. Last week, FBI agents searched the home and offices of the former senior official, a frequent critic of Trump’s foreign policy in the media. The White House had already attempted to block the publication of Bolton’s memoir, The Room Where It Happened, accusing him of handling classified documents in its writing.

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