In July 2020, Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned staff against speaking with the media about the coronavirus pandemic. Caputo, who had been appointed by Trump to control HHS messaging related to the pandemic, reportedly reprimanded agency personnel for and warned that they would “run afoul of written policies in the assistant secretary's public affairs playbook” if they spoke to the media without his approval.
In November 2021, an attorney from the Office of Special Counsel confirmed that the playbook violated the anti-gag provision in the 2012 federal Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act by not including information on whistleblowers’ rights.