Headline Roundup • May 27th, 2026
Trump Admin Proposes All Government Employees Sign NDAs
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed plans for all federal government employees to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) to prevent sensitive information from leaking. Some outlets on the left and in the center highlighted critics of the decision and framed it as a threat to free speech.
The Details: A draft notice submitted to the Federal Register said the proposed NDA policy would promote "consistency across Government, better protect confidential information, and better inform Federal employees of their rights and obligations regarding confidential information." It defines confidential government information as "all non-public, confidential, or proprietary information," including material related to internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, and "sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material," according to Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias).
For Context: According to Time Magazine (Lean Left), individual government agencies would be able to choose to opt-in or opt-out of the NDAs for their employees. Existing laws, such as the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, allow whistleblowers to report cases of government fraud, waste, or abuse without intervention from NDAs. The OPM cited leaks during President Donald Trump's second term, such as disclosures of immigration enforcement plans that allegedly "impeded enforcement of Federal law and put the lives of Federal agents in danger."
How the Media Covered It: BBC (Center bias) said the proposal is "already drawing criticism from the largest union of federal workers," and included criticisms from the union and other legal experts who have concerns that the NDA policy could unfairly limit speech. Washington Examiner noted other recent examples of government leaks, including the disclosure of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees' personal information. Time Magazine noted that Trump reportedly had his senior staff sign NDAs in his first term, implying that this practice is not new to his administration.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
The Trump administration is proposing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for US government workers in an attempt to curb leaks to the press.
The federal personnel office published a draft of the proposed agreement for new and current federal workers with a notice that says media leaks "risk chilling candid interagency feedback, disrupting orderly decision-making, and weakening trust within and among Federal agencies".
The Trump administration announced plans Tuesday to introduce governmentwide nondisclosure agreements aimed at preventing leaks of sensitive government information.
In a draft notice submitted to the Federal Register, the Office of Personnel Management said the proposed NDA policy would promote "consistency across Government, better protect confidential information, and better inform Federal employees of their rights and obligations regarding confidential information."
Sarah Silbiger—The Washington Post/Getty Images
The Trump Administration is proposing requiring all government workers to sign nondisclosure agreements that would prohibit them from sharing sensitive information, according to a draft notice posted on the Federal Register by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The rule would apply to new and existing government employees, according to the draft, which says that the goal of the proposed NDAs is "to safeguard non-public, confidential, or proprietary information."
AllSides Picks
Headline Roundup
ActBlue CEO Pleads Fifth 21 Times in Congressional Probe on Alleged Illegal Donations
June 11th, 2026
Red Blue Translator
