GSA terminates hundreds of security clearances after review

Maryland Matters · Federal News Network · September 3, 2026

The General Services Administration building in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Douglas Rissing/iStock, Getty Images Plus) By Justin Doubleday

The General Services Administration has terminated the security clearances of several hundred employees following an audit aimed at ensuring only GSA staff with a need to access classified information have clearance.

Affected GSA staff received notice that their clearances were terminated late last week. In an email viewed by Federal News Network, a senior leader within GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) said “hundreds” of employees received the notice.

“FAS has a list of all impacted employees; each portfolio is working to address this issue,” the email states. “If you received one of these notices, please do not resubmit any security paperwork. If you did not receive a termination letter, your clearance remains unchanged.”

GSA ensured employees could still enter their duty stations, the email adds, with “next steps” being worked out this week.

A GSA spokesman provided additional context on the security clearance terminations.

“GSA is strengthening internal controls by ensuring that all security clearances are strictly aligned with operational necessity,” the spokesman told Federal News Network. “As part of that effort, we are conducting a thorough audit to confirm every clearance holder has a demonstrated, current need for access to ensure agency compliance with federal standards. GSA issued guidance to affected employees on Aug. 27.”

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It’s unclear how many GSA employees continue to maintain security clearances. The agency is widely known as the central manager of government real estate and supplies purchases. But at least some GSA employees would likely need clearances to manage secure federal facilities, and oversee classified contracts and technology programs.

Efforts to review and eliminate unnecessary security clearances date back to the Obama administration. In the wake of several national security-related leaks at that time, officials launched an “insider threat” program, which included a goal to reduce the number of employees and contractors with access to classified information.

In addition to being a potential security risk, organizations like the Federation of American Scientists have noted that a “bloated security bureaucracy” is expensive, difficult to manage and leads to more government secrecy.

But efforts to rein in the number of clearance holders with access to sensitive data have struggled to gain traction. For instance, the number of Defense Department employees and contractors in the “in-access population” has stayed relatively constant at more than 2 million individuals since fiscal 2014.

“It has always been a good idea, but one that takes time to plan, carry out and somehow never gets accomplished in time,” John Berry, founding partner of the law firm Berry & Berry, told Federal News Network. “Without planning, however, it could be a real problem.”

The second Trump administration, meanwhile, has notably sought to revoke the security clearances of individual political foes. Last month, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he would sue to force the Trump administration to restore his security clearance, which it revoked after claiming he had disclosed sensitive information about Air Force One.

Efforts along the lines of GSA’s audit, meanwhile, have not been publicly disclosed.

Berry said GSA could be a test case for further efforts to reduce the number of positions that need access to classified information.

“I think we would have heard about it if others had attempted this, but GSA may be a smaller-sized agency with which to test this out,” Berry said. “I would have to see how this plays out in order to tell whether or not it turns out to be a good idea.”

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