Fearing a Trump crackdown, some federal workers are now using encryption apps to communicate

President Trump's takeover has prompted federal employees to think twice about how they communicate, Politico reported Thursday. Shortly after Trump was sworn in, a "small group of career employees" at the Environmental Protection Agency reportedly downloaded the encryption app Signal to make it harder for hackers to access their conversations about how to deal with Trump's political appointees.
The EPA employees wanted to be able to discuss what to do if the appointees "undermine their agency's mission to protect public health and the environment, flout the law, or delete valuable scientific data," Politico reported. One EPA employee even went so far as to buy a "new, more secure cell phone."
The EPA isn't the only agency making strategic communication moves. Politico reported that the Foreign Services and those "on the edges" of the Labor Department have also started using "new technology as well as more old-fashioned approaches — such as private face-to-face meetings — to organize letters, talk strategy, or contact media outlets and other groups to express their dissent." In the Labor Department, for instance, some employees are using their private email addresses to send around a letter for senators to sign to oppose the nomination of Andy Puzder, Trump's nominee for labor secretary.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I have no idea where this is going to go," an EPA employee told Politico. "I think we're all just taking it one day at a time and respond in a way that seems appropriate and right."
Read more on the story at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
September 16 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include bad news for inflation, Brian Kilmeade's solution, and Kash Patel's dinner order
-
Fit for a king: must-visit palaces around the UK
The Week Recommends Our pick of the nation’s most magnificent residences for nobles and royals
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants