Republican and Democratic presidential nominees receive a routine pre-election intelligence briefing once they have been officially nominated by their parties. While the briefing does not cover the most sensitive government secrets, it does involve the candidate being brought up to speed on information that is classified as Top Secret — information that eight senior security officials expressed concern Trump wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut about.
"I would be very concerned with Mr. Trump's ability to know what he can and can't discuss," Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told Reuters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Tash Aw picks his favourite booksThe Week Recommends From Baldwin to Chekhov, the Malaysian writer shares his top picks
-
Properties of the week: flats and houses in university townsThe Week Recommends Featuring homes in York, Durham and Bath
-
Crossword: February 21, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricingSpeed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firingsSpeed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talksSpeed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security filesSpeed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretarySpeed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffsSpeed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams casespeed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chiefSpeed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
