According to the Associated Press, the Trump organization has placed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) under de facto gag orders, meaning the employees cannot publish any information to the public until further notice. The New York Times said that former president, Barack Obama, did something similar when he first entered office as well. They also said it is normal for new administrations to make changes to their websites based on their new policy positions.

BuzzFeed recently reported on the USDA telling their employees not to distribute information about research papers

or post on Twitter under the agencies name. The request was primarily to the employees of the Agriculture Research Service, which is the USDA’s main wing, and is heavily involved in climate change research, according to The Guardian. A report under the Huffington Post said agency employees under the Department of Health and Human Services were told not to speak to public officials.

The social media ban is not the only new restriction at the EPA under the Trump administration. According to The Hill, last Monday the Huffington Post reported that the EPA grants were put on pause, and the agency employees were blocked from speaking of the matter. The EPA is known for awarding billions of dollars worth of grants and contracts to support programs that include environmental testing, cleanups and research every year. With Trump also planning massive cuts and rollbacks for the agency, things could change.

According to The Boston Globe, EPA staffers working in public affairs have been instructed to forward all inquiries from reports to the Office of Administration and Resources Management. The Boston Globe also said, “A review of EPA websites and social media accounts, which typically include numerous new posts each day, showed no new activity since Friday.”

While the freeze is not being applied to pollution cleanup efforts or infrastructure construction activities, state agencies that rely on the EPA for funding received no information about the freeze, according to The Boston Globe.

The Transportation Department received an email which appeared to be a directive not to publish any new releases or post to social media, according to a DOT employee.

“Everybody’s being very cautious,” the employee said.