Trump administration proposes NDAs for all federal employees to curb leaks

Politics Trump administration proposes NDAs for all federal employees to curb leaks May 26, 2026 / 3:23 PM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google The Trump administration is proposing that all new and current federal employees sign non-disclosure agreements as part of its crackdown on press leaks.On Tuesday, the Office of Personnel Management posted a notice in the Federal Register asking for comment on a draft NDA that federal agencies would use for "both new and existing employees.""The form is intended to document Federal employees' acknowledgment of, and agreement to comply with, current legal obligations to safeguard non-public, confidential, or proprietary information, created or obtained through their official duties, while expressly preserving the right to make disclosures authorized by law," the notice said.The OPM notice includes a proposed NDA that federal agencies may use if they wish. It also says that the proposed NDA "does not create new substantive restrictions on employee speech or disclosure rights" and "expressly" preserves employees' "rights to make disclosures authorized by law, including protected whistleblower disclosures."The OPM cited examples of internal agency communications related to rulemaking and policy development that were disclosed without authorization. It also raised instances in which FBI and the Department of Homeland Security employees disclosed information without authorization about planned immigration enforcement actions.For instance, the OPM's request for comment stated that the New York Times and Washington Post had received unauthorized information on the U.S. raid in Venezuela this past January and delayed "publishing what they knew to avoid endangering U.S. troops."But days after the raid, New York Times executive editor Joe Kahn wrote, "Contrary to some claims, however, The Times did not have verified details about the pending operation to capture Maduro or a story prepared, nor did we withhold publication at the request...