Former Air Force Secretary Loses Security Clearance Over Air Force One Leak

So here's the latest twist in the Air Force One drama: the Pentagon just yanked the security clearance of Frank Kendall, who ran the Air Force under President Biden from 2021 to 2025.

The backstory: Trump's been flying around in a retrofitted Boeing 747-8 that Qatar gifted the U.S. government, meant to eventually replace the aging Air Force One fleet. Last month, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both published stories comparing the new jet's capabilities to the old ones — and the news wasn't great. The reports said the newer plane lacks some of the protections the current jets have, including midair refueling and hardening against a nuclear blast, plus differences in defensive systems, air stairs, baggage handling and food storage. Kendall was quoted in that coverage since he'd overseen the presidential jet program for years — he even helped pick the Boeing 747-8 platform back in 2015 when he was the Pentagon's acquisitions chief.

Trump was reportedly furious about the reporting, and the administration went after it hard — the Justice Department actually subpoenaed New York Times reporters trying to find out who talked, before backing off last month after a judge criticized how they handled it.

Now the Pentagon (officially the "Department of War" these days) says it's found its leaker: Kendall. Spokesperson Sean Parnell announced Friday that effective immediately, Kendall's eligibility for access to classified information and his ability to hold any sensitive position has been revoked, following his unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Air Force One's capabilities to a media outlet, adding that safeguarding classified information is a non-negotiable duty and those who violate that trust forfeit the privilege of access and any role requiring it.

Here's the catch: Parnell did not identify the media outlet or specify which information Kendall allegedly disclosed. Kendall himself pushed back hard, telling multiple outlets he's baffled. He told CNN, "I've been extremely careful to not say anything that could be classified, and as far as I know I have not said anything classified." He also told The Hill he still hasn't been told what he supposedly revealed.

Why this matters beyond the inside-baseball Pentagon stuff: it's really about what happens when a former official talks to reporters about something the government would rather keep quiet. Losing a security clearance is a serious professional hit — it can end a career as a contractor, consultant or lobbyist within military procurement, since Kendall can no longer hold any sensitive position in the private sector that touches on Pentagon programs. And notably, unlike most leak accusations, Parnell didn't say if Kendall was being referred for prosecution, even though such accusations are typically partnered with referrals for prosecution over Espionage Act violations. So this feels less like a criminal case and more like a public shaming — one that lands right in the middle of an already tense fight between the administration and the press over Air Force One coverage.