The White House has proposed a new guideline that would require all US federal workers to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) as a measure to prevent unauthorized disclosures of information to journalists. The proposal, announced by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Tuesday, states that the administration could pursue legal action against employees who violate these agreements.

The move signals an intensified effort by the Trump administration to exert greater control over the flow of sensitive government information to the public. This directive aims to curb leaks that the administration contends are disruptive to agency operations and undermine trust within the government. The OPM spokesperson, McLaurine Pinover, stated that the proposal is rooted in concerns over "unauthorized disclosures of sensitive government information are disrupting agency operations and eroding trust across government."

Under the proposed guideline, federal employees would be required to sign NDAs covering a broad range of information. This includes details related to internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, and any pre-decisional or deliberative material not yet publicly available or protected by law. The agreements would also extend to former employees, requiring them to seek written authorization before speaking with reporters about such information.

The administration also asserted that the US government would be entitled to "royalties" from any disclosed information, though the specifics and implications of this provision remain unclear, with the OPM not offering immediate clarification. The document did not specify an effective date for the NDA, but it will be subject to a 30-day public comment period once officially published in the Federal Register. Individual agencies would then need to formally adopt the directive.

This proposal expands the scope of information considered confidential beyond the traditional classifications used by the intelligence community. While federal law already prohibits the public disclosure of classified government information, and federal workers are protected from retaliation for reporting fraud, abuse, or misconduct to internal watchdogs or Congress, the new NDAs appear to encompass a wider array of internal government workings.

The Trump White House has previously taken measures to restrict information access, including banning news outlets from the Pentagon press room and reducing funding for public media. These actions, coupled with this proposed NDA policy, reflect a broader strategy to manage public perception and limit critical reporting.

The proposal comes in the context of President Trump's ongoing adversarial relationship with many news organizations. He has previously filed lawsuits against media outlets he deems overly critical. The legal precedent for handling classified documents was highlighted in 2023 when Trump faced criminal charges related to allegations of mishandling confidential government documents.

Despite the legal protections for whistleblowers, the broad definition of "sensitive" or "pre-decisional" material in the proposed NDAs raises questions about how it might impact the ability of federal employees to speak to the press about matters of public interest, short of explicitly protected disclosures of fraud or misconduct.