How Trump used his first week to exact political retribution

President Donald Trump’s termination of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s security detail was just one of the ways in which he’s used his first week in office to carry out the political retribution he vowed to unleash if voters returned him to the White House.

President Donald Trump’s termination of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s security detail was just one of the ways in which he’s used his first week in office to carry out the political retribution he vowed to unleash if voters returned him to the White House. With actions big and small, Trump has spent his first days in office pushing the levers of government – and his unique powers as commander in chief – to target his perceived political enemies both inside and outside the government. The president has revoked security clearances from his critics. He’s canceled security details for officials who worked for him in the first administration. He’s personally announced the firings of individuals he loathes. And he’s teased a desire to launch wide-ranging investigation into both his predecessor, Joe Biden, and many others who criticized him after he left office the first time. It’s still too early to say how much Trump’s desire for political retribution will color his second term – and whether he will in fact push for far more drastic actions inside the Justice Department once his team is confirmed. The Trump Justice Department this week quickly reassigned at least 20 career officials from senior-level positions where they’ve worked for years. But it’s clear from Trump’s rhetoric during his first five days in office that he still has a desire to do. The new president this week bemoaned Biden’s preemptive pardons of potential targets of Trump’s retribution – like former Rep. Liz Cheney. And he even suggested in an Oval Office interview with Fox host Sean Hannity on Wednesday that Biden made a mistake by not pardoning himself. “I went through four years of hell by this scum that we had to deal with,” Trump said. “It’s really hard to say that they shouldn’t have to go through it also. It is very hard to say that.”