Aha...no wonder I lost my Top Secret Clearance the moment I retired. I was obviously no where high enough on the ladder.
Interestingly, security clearances and their procedures are under the control of the President and can be changed by executive order.
More than a million people had ‘Top Secret’ clearance as of a few years ago.
Background:
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/R43216.pdf