Washington DC – President Donald Trump's White House is planning to force all federal workers to sign nondisclosure agreements in an attempt to stop internal leaks to the media.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Tuesday posted a draft notice to the Federal Register stating that the proposed NDA is meant to limit government workers' whistleblower powers.
"The form is intended to document Federal employees' acknowledgment of, and agreement to comply with, current legal obligations to safeguard nonpublic, confidential, or proprietary information," the notice read.
"OPM believes that a governmentwide NDA form will promote consistency across Government, better protect confidential information, and better inform Federal employees of their rights and obligations."
It's expected that the proposal will be officially published on Wednesday, after which it will be subjected to a 30-day comment period before it comes into force.
A government-wide NDA would be yet another attempt by the Trump administration to crack down on public whistleblowing and the sharing of information and data with media organizations and journalists.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last year introduced a series of similar rules mandating that all Pentagon officials sign NDAs. He has also severely restricted media access within the Department of Defense.
While the proposal points to specific examples of potentially damaging leaks, such as details about the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, its language could be considered vague.
Specifically, it defines confidential information as "internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available."
Opposition to Trump's proposed government worker NDAs
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has slammed the draft as "another attempt by the administration to purge the civil service of nonpartisan career employees and replace them with loyalists."
Everett Kelly, the AFGE's national president, said, "Federal employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they accept federal employment, and the public has a right to know about this administration’s abuses."
Speaking to CNN, Partnership for Public Service chief executive Max Stier said that the NDA plan is likely to starve US federal workers of a voice, as they will be unable to speak out about legal and ethical violations.
"This administration has created an employee base that is already too scared to do the right thing, and this is yet another nail in the coffin of good information getting to the American public," Stier added.