Memorandum to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President Personnel

Security clearances are ordinarily granted by offices with specific expertise and experience vetting individuals and granting or denying such clearances. This presidential memorandum stated that the Biden administration had caused an unacceptable backlog in granting security clearances to individuals working in the Executive Office of the President. For this reason, it stated that certain individuals were "hereby immediately granted interim Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearances for a period not to exceed six months," thus circumventing the ordinary security clearance process. The memorandum stated that the individuals on the list should be immediately authorized to access secure buildings and technological systems. Specifically, the presidential memorandum instructed the White House Counsel to provide the White House Security Office and Acting Chief Security Officer with a list of personnel who should be granted these immediate clearances. It further authorized the White House Counsel, as the president's designee, to add individuals to that list or revoke those individuals' security clearances at his discretion.