Trump revokes Kamala Harris’ Secret Service detail extended by Biden
Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a keynote address during the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala at the Palace Hotel on April 30, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by ABC News.
The executive memorandum was issued Thursday afternoon by Trump, who sent it to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior official.
“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,” the White House memorandum to the Secretary of Homeland Security states.
Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden extended Harris’ protective detail an additional year — on top of the six months she is required by law to have a Secret Service detail as the former vice president, according to multiple officials.
A senior White House official confirmed to ABC News that Trump revoked Secret Service protection for Harris via the letter.
The official highlighted that vice presidents “typically only have a detail for six months.”
This is just the latest protection detail the president has canceled early. In March, he canceled former Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas’ detail, along with the details of the Biden children, John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“The Vice President is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety,” Kristen Allen, a senior advisor to Harris, said in a statement to ABC News.
ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — A key Senate hearing from five years ago is the center of the federal probe into former FBI Director James Comey, sources told ABC News Thursday.
At least two exchanges he had with lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee in September of 2020 are being scrutinized, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Comey, who appeared virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lied when he affirmed prior congressional testimony that he never authorized leaks to the media, the sources said.
“On May 3rd, 2017, in this committee, Chairman Grassley asked you point blank, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation? You responded under oath, ‘Never.’ He then asked you, ‘Have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton administration?’ You responded again under oath, ‘No.’ Now, as you know, Mr. McCabe, who works for you, has publicly and repeatedly stated that he leaked information to the Wall Street Journal and that you were directly aware of it and that you directly authorized it. Now, what Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to this committee cannot both be true. One or the other is false. Who’s telling the truth?” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, asked Comey.
“I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017,” Comey responded.
“So your testimony is you’ve never authorized anyone to leak? And Mr. McCabe, if he says contrary, is not telling the truth, is that correct?” Cruz asked.
“Again, I’m not going to characterize Andy’s testimony, but mine is the same today,” Comey responded.
The federal prosecutors separately investigated an exchange between Comey and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo, in which Comey said he could not recall a September 2016 intelligence document he had been sent.
Republicans said his response raises questions as to whether the investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election was a result of a strategy pushed by Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Intelligence officials have raised doubts regarding the validity of that document.
On Wednesday, prosecutors determined they would be unable to convince a jury that Comey knowingly gave false testimony in either exchange.
While they informed President Donald Trump’s appointed U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan of their determination in a memo on Monday, sources told ABC News that she still intends to press forward and seek an indictment of Comey.
(WASHINGTON) — Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the possibility he could change his strategy to end the government shutdown by negotiating legislative changes with Democrats, telling reporters on Tuesday that he doesn’t “have any strategy” to end the impasse in place of the GOP’s lackluster pressure campaign to pass a “clean” continuing resolution.
Johnson on Tuesday pushed Democrats to support the House-passed funding bill and slammed the Democrats’ $1.5 trillion proposal, which extends health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and reverses cuts to Medicaid.
Asked whether he may consider a different negotiation track as the pressure campaign against Democrats has so far failed to break the standoff, Johnson reiterated that the House-passed bill is a “clean” continuing resolution — free from legislative gimmicks or political games.
“Why don’t I change my strategy? I don’t have any strategy,” the speaker told reporters. “I’m doing the right thing, the clearly obvious thing, the traditional thing.”
The Senate is set to vote Tuesday night — its eighth time — on the GOP-backed “clean” continuing resolution that would fund the government. It’s expected to fail again as the shutdown enters its third workweek.
Congressional Democrats representing Maryland and Virginia — where a significant number of federal workers reside — criticized Republicans over the shutdown on Tuesday morning and supported the workers.
“What we have seen happen to our federal employees we will continues to speak out against,” Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat, said. “We want them to know we appreciate them, we appreciate your service to our country, we still need you, we still need what you offer our country and we will continue to work until you can be able to offer it.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought are “viscously” attacking federal employees.
OMB is working on ways to get paychecks to federal law-enforcement officers amid the ongoing shutdown, according to an OMB official. This comes after recent moves to pay members of the military and fund the critical Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program.
Trump said he’s directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use “all available funds” to pay members of the military on Wednesday, Oct. 15 despite the shutdown.
The Pentagon said Tuesday that it will use $8 billion found in research, development and testing funds to cover paychecks for the troops on Wednesday.
The move won the approval of Speaker Johnson.
“Look, my understanding of this is they have every right to move the funds around, duly appropriated dollars from Congress to the Department of Defense,” Johnson said Tuesday. “If the Democrats want to go to court and challenge troops being paid, bring it. OK?”
OMB said on its X account on Tuesday that the Trump administration is “making every preparation” to ride out the government shutdown without caving to Democrats’ demands. The agency said they’d continue cutting the federal workforce in the meantime.
“Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait,” the post said.
Lawmakers are still in a stalemate with negotiations at a standstill.
“We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history,” Johnson said on Monday.
The record is 35 days and that was set in Trump’s first term.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during an MSNBC interview Monday that he does not believe the American people will allow the federal government shutdown to proceed much longer because they’ll pressure Republicans to negotiate with Democrats.
Jeffries said Republicans remain unwilling to negotiate over health care as the shutdown continues.
because they’d rather keep the government shut down than deal with the cost-of-living crisis that exists in the United States of America,” Jeffries said.
First Lady Melania Trump. Aaron Chown-WPA Pool/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — First lady Melania Trump announced Friday that she and Russian President Vladimir Putin have had an “open channel of communication” regarding children impacted by the Russian-Ukraine war.
“We have agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war,” she said in brief remarks delivered from the Grand Foyer of the White House.
“In fact, eight children have been rejoined with their families during the past 24 hours,” she added.
The first lady had written a letter to Putin stating it was time to protect the children impacted by the yearslong war, which was hand-delivered by President Donald Trump when he met with the Russian leader in Alaska in August.
“He responded in writing, signaling a willingness to engage with me directly and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia,” she said on Friday.
Melania Trump said her representative has been working directly with Putin’s team on reunification of children separated from their families as the conflict continues.
“Russia has demonstrated a willingness to disclose objective and detailed information reflective for the current situation,” she said.
The first lady also said she was provided a “detailed report” about the eight children who were reunited and the U.S. government-confirmed facts contained in the documents.
“This is an important initiative for me. It is built on shared purpose and lasting impact,” she said, adding that plans are “underway” to reunify more children in the near future.
“A child’s soul knows no borders, no flags,” she said. “We must foster a future for our children which is rich with potential, security and complete with free will. A world where dreams will be realized rather than faded by war.”
