Trump mandates prompt spy agency to take down website, social media

Senior officials pulled down a top U.S. government mapping agency’s public-facing website as they examine whether all of its online content complies with the slew of new executive orders President Donald Trump issued since he took office last week, DefenseScoop has learned.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s site, including all web pages with press releases, open-source data and federal maps, and staff and leadership information remains inaccessible on Friday afternoon. DefenseScoop first noticed the website was not working on Thursday — and on Friday morning online tools that routinely check server statuses showed that systems for NGA.mil were still not responding. 

“We’ve temporarily unpublished our public-facing presence while we work diligently to ensure that we are in compliance with the President’s EOs,” an NGA spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions on Friday.

The agency also temporarily deactivated its social media accounts as part of the pause, they confirmed.

Broadly, NGA missions encompass data collection, field operations and comprehensive analysis of geospatial information and intelligence about movements and happenings all around the globe that could impact U.S. national security.

According to the spokesperson, the website outage is “not impacting anyone’s work” at the intel hub.

“As an intelligence agency, most employees work almost exclusively on classified networks. Those who do work on unclass systems, don’t do so through our public-facing website. All internal systems are still functioning,” the spokesperson said.

“The timeline is still being determined,” the spokesperson added.

The official did not directly answer DefenseScoop’s questions regarding the presidential EOs that sparked the move.

One of Trump’s orders directed an end to all U.S. government diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

At least one defense agency also reportedly halted all activities related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other “special observances” in the almost immediate aftermath of one EO.

Trump’s Jan. 20 order to name “the area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” could also possibly have implications for many of NGA’s public maps, and other geographic content.

When asked for comment, a Pentagon spokesperson said the department’s Chief Information Office does not administer the NGA websites. 

They did not specify whether any other public-facing defense-aligned websites are also being put on pause.

Spokespersons from the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for more information on Friday.

On Friday night, certain webpages associated with NGA.mil appear to be back up and accessible. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to comment.

Updated on Jan. 31, 2025, at 10:15 PM: This story has been updated to note that on Friday night, certain webpages associated with NGA.mil appear to be back up and accessible.