Donald Trump relishes the thought that his return to the White House will give him the power to take out the “deep state” actors who once opposed him – and almost send him to prison.

Just a few hours after he was sworn in as America’s 47th president, his campaign of revenge has begun.

Among the first targets was John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser and one of the president’s fiercest critics. Bolton’s first security clearance was revoked. Then Trump ordered the removal of the protective detail given to Bolton in 2019 after threats on his life from Iran.

“We don’t have people’s security detail for the rest of their lives – why should we? I think he’s a crazy person,” said Trump on Tuesday.

Bolton said he was “disappointed but not surprised”.

It could be just the beginning as Trump moves to crack down on perceived government opponents, targeting everything from intelligence agencies to military, financial and business regulators, and within the law enforcement apparatus itself. .

It could mark a new era for the US – and its way of ruling, with favors and punishments handed out according to a leader’s whim, not the judgments of career officials guided by long-term agreed upon rules of their institutions.

For Trump, it’s a chance for vindication as he fires officials who blocked his agenda during his first term or deepens his legal risk as federal criminal charges are filed against him in 2023.

“Never again will the great power of the state become a weapon to persecute political opponents,” he said in his inaugural speech at the Capitol on Monday.

Hours later, he signed and executive order of the government’s “use of the weapon”, allowing reviews of US intelligence and other agencies to correct “past misconduct” through “appropriate action”.

“This is an open-ended, anti-resistance move,” said Yuval Levin, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, referring to the order.

He said it was “too early to tell” whether Trump was simply sending a message for civil servants to “stay the course” of his radical agenda or “reorganize the bureaucracy so that it is more fully presidential service” .

Intelligence agencies are a particular focus for Trump. In another executive order signed in a blitz on Monday night, Trump revoked the security clearances of 50 former intelligence officials, who claimed they coordinated with former president Joe Biden’s campaign to reporting on his scandal-prone son Hunter Biden will be damaging.

The order echoes language used by Kash Patel, Trump’s controversial pick to head the FBI pending Senate confirmation.

Patel has long argued for the removal of security clearances to root out the “deep state”.

A former US intelligence official said the move would have a “chilling effect” on the agencies. “This is a clear sign that Trump will use the clearances for political reasons. That will make people cautious about speaking their minds.”

“Anything that suggests the clearances were manipulated for political purposes undermines the confidence of the intelligence community,” said Emily Harding, director of the intelligence, national security and technology program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Trump also sent a clear message to the Pentagon, where just minutes after his inauguration officials removed a photo of his former top military adviser — and eventual arch critic — retired General Mark Milley. On Monday, Trump also fired Linda Fagan, the coastguard commander, with a senior official saying she had “too much focus on diversity, equity and inclusion” and mismanaged border security. .

But Trump’s plans go beyond America’s security apparatus. The executive order on “weapons” calls for additional scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, along with other enforcement agencies such as the justice department.

Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney-general, promised that “investigators will be investigated” and “bad” prosecutors will be prosecuted.

“I worry that it allows the government to arm itself against perceived enemies,” said Ryan Goodman, a professor at New York University School of Law.

“There is usually nothing wrong with retrospective investigations of potential government wrongdoing,” he added. But this order “is put in the mind of the nominees who enter the government with a list of enemies. That is a very worrying combination for the state of democracy in the country.”

Trump has previously called for the prosecution of opponents, including Nancy Pelosi, former Democratic Speaker of the House, and former vice-president Kamala Harris, whom he defeated in the 2024 general election. He also threatened to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” Joe Biden.

Biden himself took this threat — and others — seriously enough to issue pre-emptive pardons to members of his own family and top potential targets like Milley and panel members who investigates the January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol Building, including the former congressman. Liz Cheney, before she left office.

Trump also took aim at federal workers, vowing to remove employment protections, strengthened under Biden, for thousands of career civil servants in jobs that “relate of policy” – a way to quickly fire government workers who refuse his agenda.

Meanwhile, as he stripped security clearances from his perceived enemies, he issued a separate executive order to immediately grant temporary clearances to “qualified and trusted personnel” of his choosing.

“Our foreign adversaries are salivating over this Trump Executive Order that immediately grants Top Secret clearance to individuals without proper vetting and background checks,” Olivia Troye, a Trump administration official who has been critic of the president, wrote in X.