Pentagon Revokes Frank Kendall’s Security Clearance
The Pentagon revoked former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s eligibility to access classified information Friday, accusing him of disclosing sensitive details about Air Force One’s capabilities to a media outlet, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said.
The move, announced by Parnell in a social media post, also bars Kendall from holding any sensitive position and follows weeks of reporting, including by The New York Times, on security shortcomings in the Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 now serving as Air Force One. Kendall, who led the Air Force from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden, disputed the accusation, telling the Associated Press he was “completely mystified” by the decision.
What the Pentagon Said
“This action follows his unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Air Force One’s capabilities to a media outlet,” Parnell said in the post, calling the safeguarding of classified information a nonnegotiable duty. Parnell did not identify the outlet involved or specify what information Kendall allegedly disclosed, according to CBS News and Fox News.
Kendall’s Response
Kendall disputed the accusation. He told the Associated Press he had “always been extremely careful” about classified information and was not aware of having disclosed anything improperly. He gave a similar account to The Hill, saying no one had told him what he was supposed to have revealed.
The Air Force One Reporting
The New York Times published its initial report on security concerns with the Qatari-gifted plane on July 8. A follow-up story on July 25 quoted Kendall discussing shortfalls in the aircraft’s capabilities compared with the older Air Force One, according to Mediaite and Yahoo News.
Days before the clearance revocation, The Wall Street Journal published its own report comparing the capabilities of the Qatari-donated aircraft with the older presidential jets, according to Fox News.
In July, the Trump administration also subpoenaed four New York Times journalists over their reporting on the aircraft’s security issues, seeking phone records connected to relatives of those involved, according to Mediaite. The Department of Justice later withdrew the subpoenas after U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York questioned whether government lawyers had followed the legal standard required to subpoena journalists.
Kendall’s Background
Kendall served as Air Force secretary from 2021 to 2025 under President Biden. He previously served as the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics during the Obama administration and has decades of prior experience in national security roles, according to Fox News. He is currently a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank.
Kendall also has a long-standing connection to the Air Force One replacement program. In 2015, while serving as the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, he worked with then-Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James on the decision to use the Boeing 747-8 platform for the next generation of presidential aircraft, according to Fox News.
A Pattern of Clearance Revocations
The Trump administration has revoked security clearances before, including those of 37 current and former national security officials last year, according to CBS News and the Associated Press. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth separately pulled security protections and clearance access from retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, early in the administration’s term.
Parnell did not say whether Kendall is being referred for prosecution, and the Pentagon declined to provide further detail, according to CBS News and the AP. Such accusations are typically paired with a prosecution referral under the Espionage Act, though the Pentagon has not confirmed one in Kendall’s case.
