Bills
| 3.23.22

COVFEFE Act: Should a President's Social Media Posts Have to be Preserved? (H.R. 2884)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 2884?

(Updated April 20, 2021)

This bill — known as the COVFEFE Act — would make social media content a record that requires preservation under the Presidential Records Act on the grounds that they are official presidential communications. The Presidential Records Act prohibits the president from destroying records without consulting an archivist first, so under the COVFEFE Act the president’s posts or tweets couldn’t be deleted at will.

The bill’s full title is the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement Act, and its acronym refers to a misspelled tweet the president sent in May 2017.

Argument in favor

If the president uses social media in an official capacity then all communications need to be preserved, even if they have misspelled words.

Argument opposed

It’s not entirely clear that social media posts by presidents are covered by the Presidential Records Act, and their preservation isn’t necessary.

Impact

People who want to view archival records of presidential social media posts; and the president.

Cost of H.R. 2884

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) introduced this bill to ensure that presidential social media posts are preserved under the Presidential Records Act:

“In order to maintain public trust in government, elected officials must answer for what they do and say; this includes 140-character tweets. President Trump’s frequent, unfiltered use of his personal Twitter account as a means of official communication is unprecedented. If the President is going to take to social media to make sudden public policy proclamations, we must ensure that these statements are documented and preserved for future reference. Tweets are powerful, and the President must be held accountable for every post.”

This legislation has the support of 20 Democratic cosponsors in the House.


Of Note: The National Archives released a guidance in 2013 which notified federal agencies that social media posts may create federal records that must be captured and managed according to federal laws and regulations, although it doesn't carry the force of law.

Following the defeat of Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) in the Alabama Republican Senate primary run-off, President Donald Trump deleted tweets he had previously sent in support of Strange.

 

Media:

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Cezary p / Creative Commons)