Critics warn of loyalty test in new White House hiring guidelines
www.axios.com

... 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." ...

US intelligence candidates must pass Trump loyalty tests (February 9, 2025)
www.genocidewatch.com

... Candidates for top national security positions in the Trump administration have faced questions that appear designed to determine whether they have embraced the president's false claims about the outcome of the 2020 election and its aftermath, according to people familiar with cases of such screening.

The questions asked of several current and former officials up for top intelligence agency and law enforcement posts revolved around two events that have become President Donald Trump's litmus test to distinguish friend from foe: the result of the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity.

These people said that two individuals, both former officials who were being considered for positions within the intelligence community, were asked to give "yes" or "no" responses to the questions: Was Jan. 6 "an inside job?" And was the 2020 presidential election "stolen?" ...