Sponsors (23)
The bill increases security vetting and congressional oversight of who in the EOP can access classified information, at the cost of slower staffing, reduced presidential flexibility to use temporary/advisory personnel, and a greater chance that clearance decisions become politicized.
Federal appointees and special government employees (SGEs) in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) will be subject to independent FBI clearance decisions, reducing the risk that individuals without vetted access obtain classified information.
Congress will receive timely notifications when the FBI denies, suspends, or revokes clearances for EOP personnel, increasing transparency and congressional oversight of who has access to classified information.
If the President overrides an FBI determination, Congress must receive a written explanation within 30 days, creating a formal record and increasing executive accountability for overrides.
Federal appointees and SGEs could face delays or denials of needed clearances, slowing hiring, onboarding, and day-to-day operations within the EOP.
Mandating that employment be 'clearly consistent with national security' may limit the President's flexibility to appoint temporary or advisory staff, complicating short-term or specialized assignments.
Requiring FBI notifications to Congress and written presidential explanations risks publicizing sensitive adjudicative actions and creating political conflict, potentially politicizing security determinations and exposing sensitive information.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Makes the FBI Director the decisionmaker for security clearances/access for political appointees and SGEs in the EOP and requires same-day notification and presidential explanations for overrides.
Official title: To amend the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to authorize the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make security clearance determinations and access determinations for political appointees and special Government employees in the Executive Office of the President, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 26, 2025 by Donald Sternoff Beyer · Last progress February 26, 2025
Requires the FBI Director to make security clearance and classified-access determinations for political appointees and special Government employees (SGEs) assigned to the Executive Office of the President (EOP). The FBI must notify the President and relevant congressional committees the same day it denies, suspends, or revokes such clearance or access; if the President overrides or nullifies the FBI Director’s determination, the President must provide a written explanation to the appropriate congressional committees within 30 days.