The White House announced the personal cellphone ban last week, amid the furor surrounding the publication of excerpts from Michael Wolff’s White House tell-all, “Fire and Fury.” | Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images White House cellphone ban set to take effect Jan. 16

White House chief of staff John Kelly sent a memo to staff on Wednesday detailing the upcoming ban on personal cellphones in the West Wing — and cautioning that violators could be subject to “disciplinary action.”

The ban, according to a copy of the memo obtained by POLITICO and confirmed by two White House officials, goes into effect on Jan. 16. It bans “all portable electronic devices” not issued or authorized by the White House from “being carried into or otherwise possessed” in the West Wing from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.


“Such portable electronic devices may be carried into or otherwise possessed in the West Wing at other times,” the memo says.

Credentialed reporters may carry personal devices in areas of the White House to which they have access, including the Lower Press Office and the Upper Press Office. But they may carry their devices into the rest of the West Wing only if they are entering the area in a “professional capacity and are escorted by a member of the White House staff.”

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Staff members are encouraged to leave their personal devices in their cars, at home, in offices outside the West Wing or in lockers that have been installed in White House lobby areas, according to the memo.

“Violations of this policy by [Executive Office of the President] staff are security incidents that may indicate knowing, willful, and negligent conduct in violation of security policy and may therefore result in disciplinary action and, for other Federal employees and visitors, may include being indefinitely prohibited from entering the White House complex,” the memo says.

The White House announced the personal cellphone ban last week, amid the furor surrounding the publication of excerpts from Michael Wolff’s White House tell-all, “Fire and Fury.” Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the new policy was being implemented for security reasons, not to prevent leaks.

The memo says the purpose of the policy is to “protect White House information technology infrastructure from compromise and sensitive or classified information from unauthorized access or dissemination.”

The ban comes after POLITICO reported in October that the White House believed Kelly’s personal phone had been compromised, potentially during the transition in 2016.

Emily Stephenson contributed to this report.