Trump administration pushes NDAs to curb federal media leaks
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the swearing-in ceremony for the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh in the East Room of the White House on May 22, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/ Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Trump administration is continuing its crackdown on leaks to the media and has proposed current and future federal employees sign non-disclosure agreements.
What they're saying:
The Office of Personnel Management posted the proposal on its website, saying the template NDA "comes amid a series of recent unauthorized disclosures involving sensitive government information," and that, if finalized, the document would become a standard part of the employee onboarding process.
The point of the NDA would be for federal employees to acknowledge "legal obligations to safeguard non-public, confidential, or proprietary information."
Dig deeper:
The office detailed some of the "recent incidents," which included leaks related to:
- Planned immigration enforcement operations
- Disclosures of confidential operational details prior to a US action overseas
- The release of personal information belonging to approximately 4,500 ICE employees, including frontline enforcement personnel
The backstory:
The Trump administration has been working to crack down on leaks it deems harmful to its messaging since President Donald Trump has returned to the White House.
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What's next:
The proposed notice seeks comment on several questions, including whether the NDA should cover only unclassified information and what appropriate actions, if any, agencies should consider for employees who choose not to sign the agreement.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Background information was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit.