Trump's Week 1 revenge tour rips through Washington
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President Trump's threats of retribution are rapidly materializing in policies across the U.S. government, an early warning to Trump critics that bygones will not be bygones.
Why it matters: Trump is flexing his vast new powers to target what he's described as "the enemies from within" — enforcing loyalty tests, purging career officials and attempting to rewrite the history of the last eight years.
- Trump has at times downplayed his thirst for revenge — but his first moves back in office suggest resentment against Democrats, former allies, prosecutors and the media will be a driving force in his second term.
- "For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution," the president promised supporters on the campaign trail.
Zoom in: Some of Trump's acts of vengeance this week have been petty and personal.
- On Day 1 as president, he revoked the security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a letter in 2020 saying the Hunter Biden laptop scandal carried "classic earmarks" of a Russian disinformation campaign.
- On Day 2, he publicly fired thousands of Biden presidential council appointees, including former Joints Chief of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Biden-supporting celebrity chef José Andrés.
- The Pentagon also removed a portrait of Milley — who Trump once suggested should be executed for treason — just hours after inauguration.
Other Trump moves have been far more serious.
- Within hours of taking office, Trump revoked Secret Service protection for his former national security adviser John Bolton, who has been targeted for assassination by Iran.
- He pardoned about 1,500 supporters convicted or charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, including hundreds who violently attacked the police officers protecting the building.
- Trump's new FCC chair plans to reinstate complaints against ABC, CBS and NBC for allegedly biased coverage, which the former Democratic chair had dismissed as a partisan attempt to "curtail freedom of the press."
The big picture: In his 2023 book, Trump's ultra loyalist nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, compiled a list of "government gangsters" he said should be targeted for sabotaging Trump's first presidency.
- Even with Patel's confirmation in flux, there are clear indications that the second Trump administration will channel his aggressive approach to rooting out the so-called "Deep State."
- On Day 1, Trump moved to strip thousands of civil servants of their employment protections. Roughly 160 National Security Council career officials already have been sidelined amid loyalty screenings.
- At least 15 senior Justice Department officials have been removed or reassigned, including one who played a key role in the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 as prosecutors sought evidence that Trump had mishandled classified documents.
Between the lines: In his final days in office, Biden pardoned Milley, Anthony Fauci, former Rep. Liz Cheney and members of his own family as a precautionary measure against the retribution Trump had telegraphed.
- Trump and his allies have harshly criticized Biden, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested Wednesday that House Republicans may investigate the circumstances of the pardons.
- Johnson also announced a new subcommittee that would continue investigating "the false narratives peddled by" the Jan. 6 committee — a sign Trump will have allies on Capitol Hill as he pursues his revenge tour.
- "I went through four years of hell by this scum we had to deal with," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity when asked if the attorney general should investigate his enemies. "It's really hard to say they shouldn't have to go through it also."
