"In FY 2019 there was a 4.2% increase in the number of security clearances, for a total number of 4.2 million individuals with eligibility to access classified information."[0]

This "they need people with clearences" talk is laughable. This is purely lobbying which every government contractor does. They also scooped up 4 former state CIOs. They are playing the game and quite well. This does need to be cleaned up. A company recently won a $500 million DOD contract and months later the women on the government side is now the company CEO.

[0] https://news.clearancejobs.com/2021/02/09/how-many-people-ha...