Donald Trump-led White House has instructed employees of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to disable the auto-delete feature when using the Signal messaging app for government communications, amid growing scrutiny following recent revelations of sensitive military information being shared on the platform.
According to Politico, the directive came last week as part of a new “records retention policy” for DOGE, just as the administration grapples with fallout from what some are calling “Signalgate” – the inadvertent sharing of Yemen attack plans with an Atlantic reporter.
Screenshot or forward the work related messages from personal device to work device, states White House’s directive to DOGE staff
“If you happen to receive work-related messages on your personal device — whether via text, Signal, a personal email address, or otherwise — make sure to capture and transmit those messages to your work device,” the policy states, specifically instructing staff to preserve communications by methods such as “screenshotting and forwarding.”
The timing coincides with revelations that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials, including national security adviser Mike Waltz, discussed sensitive military operations in a Signal group chat that accidentally included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.
White House asks DOGE employees to use work devices for work
The one-page document emphasizes using work devices whenever possible: “Remember — the easiest way to comply with these obligations is to use work devices for all work-related activities.”
DOGE, led by Elon Musk, faces multiple legal challenges regarding its recordkeeping practices. American Oversight has filed lawsuits claiming DOGE staffers may have destroyed records through Signal’s auto-delete function, potentially violating federal recordkeeping laws.
Justice Department attorneys maintain that DOGE “systematically complies with its Presidential Records Act obligations” and that no messages have been improperly deleted.