U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Microsoft to terminate Lisa Monaco, a senior executive and former Deputy Attorney General under the Biden administration, accusing her of posing a threat to national security.
Posting on Truth Social Friday, Trump described Monaco as “a menace to U.S. national security, especially given the major contracts that Microsoft has with the United States Government.” He further alleged that Monaco had been stripped of security clearances and barred from accessing federal properties due to unspecified “wrongful acts.”
Microsoft declined to comment on the remarks. Monaco, who joined the company in July, was previously the Deputy Attorney General in the Biden administration and has held senior roles in law and national security. Her appointment resurfaced after Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo highlighted it on X, citing a University of Chicago law school article published earlier this year.
The criticism comes at a delicate time for Microsoft. On Thursday, the tech giant said it would restrict certain cloud and AI services to an Israeli military unit accused of storing surveillance data on Palestinians, following an internal investigation. Microsoft also recently announced $3.1 billion in cloud-service savings for U.S. government agencies.
Trump is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, according to NBC News. Earlier this month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joined other technology leaders at a White House dinner hosted by the administration.
The controversy highlights the increasingly complex relationship between Washington politics and Big Tech, as technology firms balance lucrative federal contracts with growing scrutiny over ethics, compliance, and global operations.
