Pentagon officials have revoked former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s security access after accusing him of leaking classified information about Air Force One’s capabilities.
Quick Take
- The Department of Defense revoked Kendall’s eligibility for access to classified information.
- Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell tied the action to an alleged disclosure about Air Force One.
- The move also bars Kendall from holding any sensitive position.
- Kendall told reporters he had not knowingly revealed anything classified.
Pentagon Says Kendall Lost Access Immediately
The Defense Department said the revocation took effect immediately on Friday, and spokesman Sean Parnell said the action followed an unauthorized disclosure of classified information about Air Force One’s capabilities. Parnell said the department also removed Kendall’s ability to hold any sensitive position. The announcement placed the dispute squarely inside the Trump administration’s national-security chain of command, where access to classified material can be cut off fast when officials believe trust has been broken.
Parnell’s public message said Kendall’s eligibility for classified access was revoked and framed the decision as a response to protecting classified information. The department did not name the outlet that received the information, and that left the public with a short official explanation rather than a full evidence file. That is common in security-clearance cases, which are often handled through internal channels and kept opaque to the public even when the result is politically explosive.
What Prompted the Pentagon’s Action
The dispute grew out of reporting on the new Air Force One aircraft tied to President Trump’s Qatari-gifted jet, which some reports said lacked certain security features compared with the usual presidential aircraft. The Pentagon said Kendall was the source of the disclosure, while the broader reporting linked the issue to concerns about the plane’s defensive capabilities. In plain terms, the department treated the matter as a leak of sensitive national-security information, not as a policy disagreement.
Kendall pushed back when asked about the allegation. He told the Associated Press that he had always tried to avoid saying anything classified and said he did not know what he was accused of revealing. That brief denial does not erase the Pentagon’s action, but it does show the public record remains limited to competing statements rather than a detailed adjudication. For readers, that means the facts are clear on the punishment, but not on every detail behind it.
Who Frank Kendall Is
Kendall served as secretary of the Air Force from 2021 to 2025 under President Biden, and earlier held senior Pentagon roles during the Obama administration. He is a lawyer and engineer with a long defense career. That background matters because his access revocation is not a minor personnel move. It involves a former top civilian military official whose work centered on defense policy, classified programs, and the management of sensitive information.
The case fits a larger pattern in Washington, where clearance decisions can send a public message as well as block access. Supporters of tighter national-security discipline will see the move as a necessary warning that no official is above the rules. Critics are likely to focus on how little of the underlying record is public. Either way, the Pentagon’s announcement shows the administration is willing to use access controls aggressively when it believes classified information has been mishandled.
