The Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled new plans to require federal government employees to sign non-disclosure agreements prohibiting the dissemination of “confidential government information,” according to the Office of Personnel Management and a draft notice published on the Federal Register.
According to the notice, the new NDA form will “promote consistency across Government, better protect confidential information, and better inform Federal employees of their rights and obligations regarding confidential Information."
The draft notice goes on to say that “OPM expects the proposed NDA will be an Optional Form,” saying federal agencies can choose whether they want to require their own employees to sign the new, standardized NDA. It also indicates violations of the agreement could result in civil and criminal penalties.
Yet the notice says “failure to sign may result in removal from federal service and potential debarment for refusal to certify compliance with applicable non-disclosure obligations.” It remains unclear how many of the more than 2 million federal employees will be impacted by the policy.
The proposed NDA utilizes a broad definition of confidential information, including that “relating to internal agency operations, personnel matters, personally identifiable information (PII, personal health information (PHI), procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre- decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available and should not be disclosed.”
"In much of the private sector, employees handling sensitive business or customer information are routinely required to sign confidentiality agreements, and the federal government should not be held to a lower standard," OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement. "Americans should be able to trust that their personal data and sensitive government information are being handled responsibly. This proposal reinforces accountability across the federal workforce while helping agencies better protect against unauthorized disclosures."
The draft notice points to recent incidents where federal employees revealed information to news outlets that officials argue put government operations in jeopardy, including a 2025 incident whereby FBI and Department of Homeland Security employees leaked information on “planned immigration enforcement actions.”
The draft similarly references information divulged by federal employees to media outlets ahead of the American military’s ouster of former Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro during “Operation Absolute Resolve.”
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Set to be published officially on Wednesday, the rule will be subject to the typical 30-day notice and comment period before taking effect, barring any legal challenges, and marks the latest attempt by the Trump administration to reshape the federal workforce and crack down on the leaks to media.
The American Federal of Government Employees — a labor union representing more than 820,000 federal employees — panned the release announcement.
“This proposed NDA is another attempt by the administration to purge the civil service of nonpartisan career employees and replace them with loyalists who won’t speak out against waste, fraud, and abuse,” AFGE’s National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.
“Moreover, federal agencies already have extensive policies and procedures in place for preventing the unauthorized release of classified or privileged information. This proposed rule sweeps in an extraordinarily broad category of information, extending restrictions to the very material the public relies on to learn when an administration is causing harm.”
