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.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Beyer (for himself, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Magaziner, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Security Clearance Review Act transfers authority over security clearances for White House political appointees and special government employees from the President to the FBI Director. It requires that anyone working in the Executive Office of the President must pass an FBI security clearance review, and mandates Congressional notification when clearance decisions are made or overridden.
Who Benefits and How
Congressional oversight committees gain significant new visibility into White House personnel decisions. They must be notified whenever the FBI denies a security clearance and whenever the President overrides such a denial. The FBI and national security establishment benefit from expanded authority, as the FBI Director becomes the gatekeeper for who can access classified information in the White House.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Political appointees and special government employees in the Executive Office of the President face new compliance requirements. They cannot begin work or access classified information until the FBI Director specifically approves their security clearance. The President's hiring flexibility is constrained, as the administration must justify any decision to override FBI security determinations to Congress in writing within 30 days.
Key Provisions
- The FBI Director, not the President, must approve security clearances for all political appointees and special government employees working in the Executive Office of the President
- No political appointee can be employed in the White House unless their employment is "clearly consistent with national security"
- If the FBI Director denies, suspends, or revokes a security clearance, the President and Congress must be notified on the same day
- If the President overrides the FBI Director's security clearance decision, the President must submit a written explanation to Congress within 30 days
- Applies to "political appointees" (as defined in the Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015) and "special government employees" (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 202)
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to enhance national security by empowering the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to make security clearance determinations for political appointees and special government employees in the Executive Office of the President.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "congress"
- → Appropriate committees of Congress
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- "the_president"
- → President of the United States
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The bill is officially named the Security Clearance Review Act.
The Director of the FBI is authorized to make security clearance decisions for political appointees and special government employees in the Executive Office, ensuring national security compliance.
This section introduces an amendment to existing law, allowing the FBI Director to make security clearance decisions for certain government employees.
Political appointees or special government employees cannot be employed, detailed, or assigned to the Executive Office unless it is clearly consistent with national security.
These individuals cannot have a security clearance or access classified information without approval from the FBI Director.
The FBI Director must notify the President and Congress if they deny, suspend, or revoke a security clearance for these individuals.
If the President nullifies or modifies the Director's decision, they must provide written reasons to Congress within 30 days.
The term 'political appointee' is defined by reference to a specific section of another law, providing clarity on who this bill applies to.
Similarly, 'special government employee' is defined by reference to a section of Title 18 of the U.S. Code.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology