Trump Moves to Tighten Control Over Federal Workers’ Media Contacts

The Trump administration is moving to require federal workers to sign non-disclosure agreements that would restrict them from speaking to journalists without prior approval, a proposal that critics say could chill whistleblowing and further tighten the White House’s control over public information.

The proposal, announced Tuesday by the Office of Personnel Management, says the White House could take legal action against employees who violate the agreements. It also states that the government could be entitled to “royalties” from disclosed information, though the agency did not immediately explain what that would mean in practice.

The document does not say when the new requirement would take effect. Once formally published in the Federal Register, the proposal will enter a 30-day public comment period. Individual federal agencies would also need to agree to implement the directive.

“This move is rooted in concerns that unauthorized disclosures of sensitive government information are disrupting agency operations and eroding trust across government,” said OPM spokesperson McLaurine Pinover.

The measure fits into a broader pattern from President Donald Trump’s second administration, which has repeatedly sought to restrict the flow of information to the public. That effort has included barring certain news outlets from the Pentagon press room, cutting funding for public broadcasters such as PBS and NPR, and limiting press access in official spaces.

It is already illegal for federal employees to disclose classified government information. Trump himself faced criminal charges in 2023 over allegations that he mishandled confidential government documents.

But the new proposal would go further by expanding the category of protected information beyond traditional intelligence classifications. The NDAs would cover “information relating to internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available and should not be disclosed under applicable law”.

The restrictions would also apply to former employees who sign the agreements, requiring them to obtain written permission before speaking to reporters about covered information.

Federal law protects government workers who report fraud, abuse or misconduct to internal watchdogs or Congress. According to the draft agreement, the NDA would not apply to those legally protected disclosures.

Still, press freedom advocates argue the proposal could discourage workers from coming forward, even in cases where they have the legal right to do so.

“The proposal by the ‘most transparent administration in history’ that millions of federal employees sign a blanket NDA is not just absurd, it’s unnecessary and dangerously secretive,” Lauren Harper of the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) said in a statement to Al Jazeera.

“This policy, from a president who has previously attempted to impose oppressive, corporate-style confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements on federal employees, would kneecap whistleblower protections, undermine the First Amendment, and wrongly inhibit the public’s right to know.”

Since returning to office, Trump has intensified his attacks on media organisations and journalists he considers hostile. He has sued news outlets, dismissed critical coverage as “fake news” and personally targeted reporters and media figures.

In April, he threatened to pull ABC station licences after late-night host Jimmy Kimmel joked about First Lady Melania Trump. The White House also banned The Associated Press from the White House press pool and restricted reporters’ access at the Pentagon, a policy that federal courts later ruled unconstitutional.

The administration also launched a crackdown last year aimed at deporting pro-Palestine student activists living in the US who are not citizens.