State Department officials seeking career advancement are facing partisan political screenings, with top agency brass asking candidates who they voted for in presidential elections, according to insiders.
Under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, diplomats hoping to climb the mid-to-upper foreign service ranks face an ideological litmus test, the Washington Sun reports. Agency officials made clear that voting for President Donald Trump is effectively a prerequisite for promotion, warning applicants that past campaign contributions to Democrats are grounds for disqualification, the publication stated, citing sources.
Six current and former State Department sources confirmed the partisan line of questioning, with three revealing they spoke directly with officers subjected to the interrogation. Federal law explicitly forbids evaluating career personnel based on political affiliation, but the administration is pressing ahead anyway, the report says.
A State Department spokesperson refused to address the voting questions directly to The Sun, instead delivering a sermon on “fidelity.”
“Fidelity means upholding the Constitution and the law and executing policy with loyalty to the American people and their interests,” the spokesperson said.
“It emphasizes the critical importance of service, integrity, and policy alignment across the Foreign Service. It is not about partisan behavior but rather about executing the president’s vision for foreign policy.”
The spokesperson added that Rubio has prioritized merit and rewarding “demonstrated performance on behalf of administration priorities” in promoting career staff into leadership positions.
When approached by the Daily Beast, spokesperson Tommy Pigott added: “Secretary Rubio values candid insights from patriotic Americans who have chosen to serve their country. What we will not tolerate is people using their positions to actively undermine the duly elected President’s objectives.”
“Those bureaucrats who are complaining to the press prove the point that they shouldn’t have, and can’t be, trusted with sensitive information.”
Another State Department spokesman added that it rejects the Sun’s reporting.
“We reject this absurd premise that individuals are being asked about their political affiliations, and even more so for promotions,” they said. “As it has been expressed repeatedly, this administration will prioritize merit rather than giving out leadership positions based on the number of years individuals have been at the Department.”
The push to purge nonpartisan ranks builds on policy shifts that added new promotion metrics, evaluating officers on their “fidelity” to “protecting and promoting executive power” and “zealously executing USG policy.”
Entry exams have already taken an ideological turn. One test-taker reported facing questions about former President Ronald Reagan’s tax cuts and the achievements of Trump’s former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
“There was just something about the test that made it seem like they weren’t looking for the highest scores but people who answered a certain way on specific questions,” the candidate said.
Congressional Democrats are preparing a sweeping inquiry. “The Committee has been following allegations that the Trump Administration is making political affiliation a factor in employment for some time now,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Washington Sun.
“These are critical national security positions and individuals should be chosen for their experience and ability, not their political loyalty. We are working with the House and other relevant committees to thoroughly investigate all such claims.”
The diplomatic purity tests parallel a broader administration effort to enforce ideological conformity across the federal workforce. Last summer, the Office of Personnel Management introduced mandatory application essays requiring civil service job applicants to outline how they would implement their favorite Trump executive orders.
Courts quickly stepped in to halt the practice. In September this year, U.S. District Judge George O’Toole issued an order halting the prompt after civil service advocacy groups and labor unions sued the government.
The judge determined that forcing applicants to declare allegiance to specific policies likely violated constitutional protections. After federal hiring officials complied with the ruling, they replaced the prompt with standard questions about administrative skills.
The State Department was approached for comment.
