‘Act of retribution’: After fact-checking Trump, Chris Krebs faces investigation and global entry ban

Chris Krebs, the former leader of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is currently under a federal investigation and has lost his membership in the Global Entry travel program. These actions are connected to his rejection of President Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was marred by widespread voter fraud.

Krebs, who was appointed by President Trump in 2018, publicly disagreed with the President’s statements that the election was rigged, according to CBS. Just before he was fired in 2020, Krebs and state election officials released a statement calling the 2020 election “the most secure in American history” and saying there was “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.” President Trump later fired Krebs, calling the statement “highly inaccurate.”

The Trump administration’s actions against Krebs became much more serious in April 2025, according to MSNBC. A memo signed by President Trump accused Krebs of being “a significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused” his authority. The memo claimed Krebs was involved in “the censorship of disfavored speech about the 2020 election” and the suppression of “conservative viewpoints under the excuse of fighting supposed disinformation.” This memo instructed the Justice Department to investigate Krebs’ work while he was at CISA.

Chris Krebs is the next one out after disagreeing with Trump

After the memo was released, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed that Krebs was “under active investigation by law enforcement agencies.” The spokesperson said this investigation made Krebs ineligible for Global Entry, a program that lets pre-approved, low-risk travelers go through airport security faster. The White House gave a similar statement but did not provide details about the investigation or which agencies were involved. The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Krebs found out about the loss of his Global Entry status through an email, according to NY Times. A week after the President ordered the investigation, Krebs resigned from his job at the cybersecurity company SentinelOne to focus on defending himself.

Taking away Krebs’ Global Entry privileges follows other actions by the Trump administration. Besides the investigation, Krebs also had his security clearance revoked. The targeting of Krebs fits a larger pattern of the administration punishing people it sees as enemies. This pattern includes executive orders against law firms that hired people from Robert Mueller’s team, as well as attempts to take away the security clearances of former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.