The Trump administration is ordering every federal agency to install the White House's own app on every government-issued phone its employees use. The directive went out from federal CIO Greg Barbaccia to agency chief information officers, requesting their help with “the mechanics” of pushing the app onto government devices across the executive branch. The FAA's IT team told employees in an internal communication on Friday, May 22, that it “will automatically install 'The White House' application on all FAA-issued iPhones and iPads, as mandated by the White House,” and that employees “do not need to take any action.”
The app, launched in March 2026, surfaces White House press releases as news, live-streams briefings, and includes an ICE Tip Line for civilians to report immigration-related information to federal authorities. (CNBC has separately reported that the app “curates favorable news articles” while omitting unfavorable data such as the post-Iran-war oil-price surge and grocery cost increases.) GPS tracking was reportedly removed after early criticism.
Former government tech officials called the directive both a security failure and a propaganda mandate. “Any app installed on government devices can potentially create backdoor access to government networks behind the firewall,” said Sonny Hashmi, a former GSA IT executive. David Nesting, former OPM deputy CIO, was blunter: “It's just making sure all federal employees are forced to see the same propaganda they push.”
This is a distinct escalation from the app's launch (see White House Posts Cryptic 'Launching Soon' Videos During the Iran War, Sparking Panic and Russian Disinformation; the Reveal Was a Propaganda App With an ICE Tip Line). The launch made the app available; this directive forces it onto the work phone of every federal employee in the executive branch.
By June 2026, reporting clarified that the app is pushed through mobile-device-management policy on managed government phones, with no meaningful opt-out: employees cannot remove it, and refusing can risk discipline. The app includes a “text President Trump” button that pre-loads a message reading “Greatest President Ever!”