Three federal worker unions took the Trump administration to court over a “loyalty test” added to job applications.
A coalition of unions filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the White House and the Office of Personnel Management of “creating an illegal and unconstitutional system of political patronage” through a Merit Hiring Plan released in May.
An OPM memo explained that four open-ended essay questions would be added to job applications for federal civil service positions. One question asks: “How would you help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? 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.”
After the memo drew backlash, OPM clarified in June that the essay questions were not mandatory but simply “encouraged.”
“But the guidance also provides that answers ‘will be reviewed’ by hiring managers and political appointees, making clear that the answers will play some unknown and unspecified role in the hiring process,” the lawsuit read. “Of course the Loyalty Question will play some role in hiring: otherwise, why include it at all?”
The unions—the American Federation of Government Employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the National Association of Government Employees—said the question has so far appeared in more than 5,800 federal job postings “that have nothing to do with politics or personal sympathy for the President’s Executive Orders.”
An online tracking database showed that the affected job listings included dental hygienist at the Defense Department and food and beverage manager at the Navy.
“One of the cornerstones of American democracy is a nonpartisan, career civil service based on merit, not political loyalty,” the suit stated.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement that the “politically motivated questions” were taken straight out of Project 2025, the ultraconservative policy playbook with ties to the Trump administration.
“This isn’t just illegal, it also harms our members and all Americans by depriving them of opportunities to serve their country and by undermining a skilled, nonpartisan workforce,” he said.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday. The OPM directed the Daily Beast to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond.
An OPM official told Axios in June that Trump “has the power of superintendence over the Executive Branch and clear statutory authority to ask these questions of prospective employees. He is not imposing a loyalty test by doing so.”
