US President, Donald Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for the former Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris.
A letter, titled “Memorandum for the Secretary of Homeland Security,” instructs the Secret Service to “discontinue any security-related procedures beyond those required by law” effective September 1, 2025.
US law mandates that former Presidents receive secret service protection for life while former Vice Presidents receive six months of protection after office.
For Harris, that period ended on 21 July. However, reports state that her protection had been extended for an additional year under an undisclosed directive signed by then President Joe Biden before leaving office.
Trump’s new directive cancels that extension. “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 letter reads.
Kirsten Allen, a Senior Adviser to Harris, said that Harris “is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety.”
However, Gavin Newsom Spokesperson Bob Salladay expressed outrage about Trump making the change. “The safety of our public officials should never be subject to erratic, vindictive political impulses,” Salladay told a news agency.
The Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass, has also reportedly been in touch with Newsom following the news. As a resident of Los Angeles, Harris could receive protection from local law enforcement.
In a statement, Bass called the revocation as “another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation in the form of firings, the revoking of security clearances and more.”
“This puts the former Vice President in danger and I look forward to working with the Governor to make sure Vice President Harris is safe in Los Angeles.”
Karen Bass
Presidents and presidential candidates face frequent security threats. There were two assassination attempts against Trump during his run for President last year.
Harris, according to people familiar with her security operations, faced particular security concerns given that she was the first woman and first Black woman in the role.
Those concerns only increased after she became the nominee, the people familiar with her security operations told a news agency, and was still at a high level into January following the campaign, with feelings about the election still raw.
The revocation comes as Harris prepares to launch a national book tour promoting her new memoir, 107 Days, which details her presidential campaign. The book is scheduled for release on September 23, 2025.
That will put her more in the public spotlight than she has been since leaving office, during which time she’s attended only a few public events.
What will now disappear with the revocation of Secret Service Protection is not just the agents assigned to guard her in person, 24-7.
Secret Service protection includes constant analysis of threat intelligence and covering in-person situations, emails, texts and social media.
With her detail canceled, Harris aides are worried that they will lose the same access to threat warnings, the people familiar with her security operations said. Her home, in the middle of Los Angeles, will also stop being protected by federal agents.
The cost of mounting any similar level of protection privately would be expensive, possibly going into the millions of dollars annually.
Harris, as a Los Angeles resident, could also receive protection from the city police department.
This is just the latest protection detail that Trump 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.
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