Rep. Ted Lieu introduced a bill Wednesday that would allow Congress to oversee the security clearance process at the White House after revelations former aide Rob Porter remained on a temporary status for over a year.
“It would require the White House to provide — every three months — information on who has security clearances, who is on interim security clearances, and if it’s over a year, they have to explain why,” Mr. Lieu, California Democrat, said on CNN.
The Clearances Act — introduced with Reps. Jerry Nadler, New York Democrat, and Elijah Cummings, Maryland Democrat — seeks to put more transparency in the process and give Congress more checks on tracking these high-level security clearances.
Mr. Lieu also wrote a letter to the FBI director asking for information on the process after Mr. Porter’s temporary status was made public. Mr. Porter was denied a permanent security clearance after two former spouses said he was verbally and physically abusive.
“There’s no way Rob Porter should have had a security clearance when they found out last summer. He should’ve been terminated and had his security clearance stripped,” Mr. Lieu said.
He said he welcomes chairman of the House Oversight Committee Rep. Trey Gowdy’s investigation into this situation.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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