WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on Tehran during Trump’s first administration.

A congressional staffer and a person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss personal security details, confirmed the change, but neither could offer an explanation.

They said Pompeo and Hook were told of the loss of protection Wednesday and that it took effect at 11 o’clock that night.

It’s another sign of steps Trump is taking upon his return to the White House to target those he has perceived as adversaries.

Trump soured on Pompeo some months ago, saying publicly that he would play no role in his new administration. In a social media post this week, he fired Hook from his presidentially appointed position on the board of the Wilson Center, a think tank.

White House officials did not respond to a request for comment on the revocation of Pompeo’s and Hook’s security protections.

A representative for Pompeo did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Biden administration’s State Department had provided and then systematically renewed round-the-clock protection by the Diplomatic Security Service for Pompeo and Hook since Jan. 21, 2021, when they left office along with Trump. The last such authorization was on Oct. 21.

Pompeo and Hook were the public faces of the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran after Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, which offered relief on sanctions in exchange for drastically limiting its nuclear program. And Iran has blamed both for the killing of Iran Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3, 2020.

Biden administration officials briefed Trump officials this month about the ongoing threat posed by Iran to Pompeo, Hook and others and why the administration had extended the security details for them, according to a former senior Biden administration official familiar with the matter.

The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the private briefing, said Trump administration officials are “well aware” of the “active threats” against the former government officials and called the move “highly irresponsible.”