On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) stated that the revocation of former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance is “a clear abuse of power,” and “a mark of an authoritarian dictator,” rather than a democratically-elected president.

Castro said, “It’s a clear abuse of power, and it’s a mark of an authoritarian dictator, really, rather than a democratically-elected president of the United States. John Brennan’s issue is that he challenged a thin-skinned president of the United States, and it really portends dangerous things. Who’s to say that in — well, first of all, who’s to say that in six months, the list won’t be nine people, but a hundred people, in a way that, basically, discourages anybody from criticizing the president who holds a security clearance, or that in ten years, you won’t have another Republican or Democratic president stripping a thousand people of their security clearances? So, this is a dangerous precedent to set.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett