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On July 7th, 2020, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld key aspects of a gag order issued by President Donald Trump that prohibited federal employees from speaking to lawmakers and the media about certain government policies. The ruling was significant in that it upheld the president’s rights to control communications between federal workers and those outside of the government.
The ruling allows the White House Communications Office and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue directives to federal agencies on who they can communicate with and what kinds of information can be shared with the public. The gag order also restricts federal employees from discussing “certain sensitive national security, foreign affairs, or communications strategy matters” without express permission from the White House.
Furthermore, the ruling also established that the directive was not an attempt to silence criticism, but instead to ensure that classified information stays secured and out of the public domain. The court also explicitly stated that the Trump administration is within its authority to enact speech restrictions for federal employees, but that the court reserves the right to review and consider legal challenges to such policies in the future.