Critics warn of loyalty test in new White House hiring guidelines

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

10 hours ago


New White House hiring guidelines sent out to federal agencies last week include what looks like a presidential loyalty test, say current and former federal employees and Trump administration critics.

Why it matters: Meant to serve as guidelines to focus hiring on merit, the memo is the latest move from the Trump administration to politicize the civil service, eroding, more than a century of law and tradition meant to insulate career employees from politics, critics say.

Where it stands: Candidates for civil service jobs — including janitors, nurses, surgeons, engineers, lawyers and economists — are to be asked four questions on their level of patriotism and support for the president's policies.

They are to answer in essay form, at a maximum of 200 words, and certify that they did not use help from artificial intelligence.

How it works: "How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role?" reads the third question, which is garnering a lot of attention.

It continues: "Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired."

Zoom out: These questions have nothing to do with a candidate's merit or skills, says Jeri Buchholz, a former chief human capital officer who led HR at NASA and ran HR at other federal agencies for decades.

"When you're doing hiring, traditionally by law, you have to focus on the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the position," she says.

The questions "are philosophical. They're not even aptitude related. And I'm very unclear how you score that."

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/06/02/white-house-loyalty-trump

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Article VI

(snip)

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.


https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlevi

5 U.S. Code § 3331 - Oath of office

An individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services, shall take the following oath: “I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” This section does not affect other oaths required by law.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/3331

SF 61 (different agencies incorporate this in their paperwork in various formats but the wording is all the same) -



There is no law requiring fealty to one President. There is a revolving door of Presidents (I served under 6).

I have done my share of hiring as a former Supervisor and the primary things that is looked at are mentioned - "KSAs", the abbreviation for "Knowledge, Skills, Abilities".