During the first Trump presidency, Pompeo and aide Brian Hook adopted an aggressive posture towards Iran, most notably highlighted by the drone strike that assassinated top Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in early 2020.

According to a person familiar with the matter, Trump revoked the State Department security details for Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Hook on Wednesday. This move came two days after he revoked the Secret Service detail for his former national security adviser, John R. Bolton.

Senior U.S. officials do not receive automatic ongoing protection, except for former presidents and their spouses. The level of protection is determined by threat assessments from the intelligence community.

Trump’s decision “will have a chilling effect on his emerging national security team,” said Charles Kupperman, who served as a deputy national security adviser under Bolton during Trump’s first term.

In an interview with Fox News aired Wednesday night, Trump suggested that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the reason he did not release files related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination during his first term. However, people who have spoken with Pompeo over the past six years found Trump's statement perplexing and asserted that it was not based on fact.

Despite this, Trump has expressed that he does not want anyone who worked under Pompeo during his first term to be part of his administration. Recently, he removed Hook from his position as a presidential appointee to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars through a social media post.