Trump administration proposes NDAs for federal employees to stop media leaks

The Trump administration wants all current and future federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements, as part of an ongoing campaign against leaks to the media.

A proposed notice, announced Tuesday on the Office of Personnel Management’s website, is expected to be formally published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, seeking comment on a draft nondisclosure agreement that federal agencies will use “for new and existing employees.”

“The form is intended to document Federal employees’ acknowledgment and agreement to comply with existing legal obligations to protect nonpublic, confidential, or proprietary information created or obtained through their official duties, while expressly maintaining the right to disclosure permitted by law,” the notice said.

The proposed notice seeks comment on several questions, including whether a nondisclosure agreement should cover only nonconfidential information and what appropriate procedures, if any, agencies should consider for new or existing employees who choose not to sign the agreement.

OPM cited “several recent instances” in which internal agency communications related to rulemaking and policy development were disclosed without authorization. It also discussed specific cases in which federal employees at the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security disclosed information about planned immigration enforcement actions without authorization.

In one case, The New York Times and The Washington Post received unauthorized information about the US raid on Venezuela last January, and delayed “publishing what they knew to avoid endangering US forces,” the Prime Minister’s Office’s request for comment said.

A Washington Post spokesman declined to comment.

Charles Stadtlander, executive director of media relations and communications at The Times, said in an email that the newspaper has extensive reporting on operations targeting Venezuela and preparations for ground military operations. “But contrary to some claims, The Times did not have confirmed details about the pending operation to capture Maduro or a prepared story, and we did not withhold publication at the request of the Trump administration.”

Detecting leaks that the administration considers harmful to its messaging has been a priority across multiple agencies since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. As part of this campaign, the FBI in January seized the electronic devices of a Washington Post reporter, a move that alarmed media organizations and press freedom advocates.

Another notable incident occurred last year when dozens of reporters turned in their badges to the Pentagon, rejecting new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable to being fired if they sought to report information — classified or otherwise — that Hegseth did not agree to publish.

Michael Vogelsang Jr., an attorney with the Employment Law Group, said he has questions, including: “What gap is the NDA supposed to fill that doesn’t actually exist?”

He pointed out that laws already exist regarding the leaking of confidential and sensitive information. He noted that there is also a law passed by Congress that prohibits employers from implementing or enforcing non-disclosure agreements.

“Congress has already said NDAs are prohibited,” he said. “So how could OPM create a regulation that violates the law?”

National President of the American Federation of Government Employees, Everett Kelly, said in a statement that the rule proposed by OPM is part of an ongoing effort to silence federal employees.

“This proposed NDA is another attempt by the administration to purge the civil service of nonpartisan career employees and replace them with loyalists who will not speak out against waste, fraud, and abuse,” Kelly said.