--- title: Donald Trump: 'COVFEFE Act' Aims to Archive Tweets description: A Democratic congressman has introduced a bill that aims to preserve tweets by President Trump canonical: https://time.com/4815850/donald-trump-covfefe-tweet-mike-quigley/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-13T00:21:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:06:52.532Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congressman Proposes 'COVFEFE Act' to Preserve President Trump's Tweets og:description: Rep. Mike Quigley wants to make sure the President's tweets are archived og:url: https://time.com/4815850/donald-trump-covfefe-tweet-mike-quigley/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf189861502b2f899/6988d15bab6d779f586ae869/donald-trump-tweet-record.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Via Twitter, Trump Threatens To Cancel Mexico Visit To White House Over Wall og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congressman Proposes 'COVFEFE Act' to Preserve President Trump's Tweets twitter:description: Rep. Mike Quigley wants to make sure the President's tweets are archived twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf189861502b2f899/6988d15bab6d779f586ae869/donald-trump-tweet-record.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congressman Proposes 'COVFEFE Act' to Preserve President Trump's Tweets > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jun 13, 2017 12:21 AM UTC  The Twitter Inc. accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @POTUS and @realDoanldTrump, are seen on an Apple Inc. iPhone arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. The Twitter Inc. accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @POTUS and @realDoanldTrump, are seen on an Apple Inc. iPhone arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jun 13, 2017 12:21 AM UTC A Democratic congressman has introduced a bill that aims to preserve [President Trump’s](http://time.com/4815176/donald-trump-travel-ban-9th-circuit-court/) tweets to make sure they are archived as part of his presidential records. Dubbed the COVFEFE Act in reference to Trump’s [mysterious late-night tweet](http://time.com/4799171/merriam-webster-donald-trump-covfefe/) in May, the bill would add “social media” as an amendment to the Presidential Records Act, which ensures that presidential communications are preserved. Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley introduced the act in response to Trump’s “unprecedented” use of Twitter, according to a [statement](https://quigley.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/quigley-introduces-covfefe-act). “In order to maintain public trust in government, elected officials must answer for what they do and say; this includes 140-character tweets,” Quigley said. “Tweets are powerful and the President must be held accountable for every post.” When spelled out the COVFEFE Act would officially read: Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement. If the Presidential Records Act is amended to include the term “social media” as a documentary material, it would be illegal for the President to delete tweets. Trump’s frequent use of Twitter has already had legal consequence — the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals [cited a recent tweet](http://time.com/4815176/donald-trump-travel-ban-9th-circuit-court/) by the President in its decision to block his revised travel ban on Monday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4815850/donald-trump-covfefe-tweet-mike-quigley/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4815850/donald-trump-covfefe-tweet-mike-quigley/"},"headline":"Congressman Proposes 'COVFEFE Act' to Preserve President Trump's Tweets","datePublished":"2017-06-13T00:21:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:06:52.532Z","description":"Rep. 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