Trump’s Office of Personnel Management Proposed a Governmentwide NDA for All Federal Employees
The Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management released a proposal last month requiring federal employees to sign a governmentwide nondisclosure agreement. The proposed NDA would apply across federal agencies and has not yet been enacted. If implemented, it would bind the roughly 2.3 million civilian federal workers to confidentiality terms set by the executive branch.
Dozens of House Democrats sent a letter to OPM on June 29, 2026, demanding the administration abandon the proposal. The letter was led by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Greg Landsman (D-Ohio).
“The proposed NDA would only serve to intimidate and silence federal employees.”
House Democrats, letter to the Office of Personnel Management, June 29, 2026
The lawmakers are demanding specific answers from OPM on two points: the full scope of the proposed NDA and how workers would still be able to make legally protected disclosures. Federal whistleblower protections are established by the Whistleblower Protection Act, which shields workers who report fraud, waste, or legal violations to Congress, inspectors general, and watchdog offices. A broad NDA could conflict with those protections or deter workers from using them even if the protections technically remain in place.
Federal NDAs Would Restrict the Primary Check on Executive Branch Misconduct
Federal employees are one of the main sources of information for congressional oversight. Workers who witness misuse of funds, safety violations, or illegal orders can report to their agency’s inspector general or directly to Congress. Any agreement that chills those disclosures reduces lawmakers’ ability to conduct oversight.
OPM has not publicly released the full text of the proposed NDA. The Democrats’ letter presses the agency to clarify whether whistleblower disclosures would be explicitly carved out, which current law would require. Without that clarification, workers face legal uncertainty about what they can say and to whom.
The proposal follows a broader pattern in 2025 and 2026 of executive branch actions restricting federal employee speech, including mass firings and directives limiting what agency staff can communicate externally.
What You Can Do Now
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Call the House Oversight Committee at (202) 225-5074 and ask the committee to hold public hearings on the proposed OPM NDA before it moves forward. Hearings would put the full text of the agreement on the record.
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Contact Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s office at (202) 225-3711 to ask how to formally co-sign or publicly support the Democrats’ letter. Krishnamoorthi is the lead sponsor and his staff can direct constituents to the relevant legislative vehicle.
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Call your own House representative at (202) 224-3121 and ask whether they have signed the letter opposing the federal NDA. If they haven’t, ask them to co-sign or issue a statement opposing the proposal before OPM finalizes any agreement.
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File a public comment with OPM if the agency opens a formal comment period. Track the OPM rulemaking page at regulations.gov by searching “Office of Personnel Management NDA” to get notified when a comment window opens.