Trump Orders Full Access to Unclassified Federal Data for Designated Officials

In a lesser-noticed executive order issued on March 20, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to grant his designees complete access to unclassified government data. The order, somewhat overshadowed by an order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, mandates that federal officials designated by the president or agency heads receive “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, data, software systems, and information technology systems” for the purpose of rooting out “waste, fraud, and abuse.” “This includes authorizing and facilitating both the intra- and inter-agency sharing and consolidation of unclassified agency records,” it states. Under the order, agency heads have 30 days to revise or remove internal policies that obstruct data-sharing within and across agencies. During that same period, agencies must also submit a report of those changes to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is implementing the White House’s efforts to shrink the federal bureaucracy....