Federal worker unions late Thursday filed a suit challenging the Trump administration’s inclusion of a so-called loyalty question in a set of prompts to be answered by prospective employees.
The new question “essentially establishes a system of unconstitutional political patronage,” they argue, while “allowing the Trump Administration to weed out those who do not voice sufficient support for President Trump and reward those who do.”
The American Federation of Government Employees, which brought the suit in conjunction with Democracy Forward, argues that the question undermines the cornerstone of a “career civil service based on merit, not political loyalty.”
“For many Americans who aspire to serve in this country’s nonpartisan, merit-based civil service, being required to express a view in support of the President’s political objectives, to attest that one of the President’s Executive Orders is personally ‘significant,’ or to share their political views or beliefs at all, is antithetical to their values,” they wrote in the suit.
The Trump administration rolled out the new application process in May, including four essay questions.
While some pose questions about skills and experience, others ask about promoting President Trump’s agenda.
“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,” the question asks.
The suit argued that applicants “will be compelled to speak in the form of a written essay praising the President’s orders and policies (in order to better their chances of employment), risk being punished for answering honestly, or be chilled from speaking at all.”
“That is by design,” they wrote, adding that “the Administration appears to be trying to fill nearly every level of the civil service with political loyalists.”
The suit noted that many job postings in which the questions have been posed have nothing to do with politics or policy, including roles for a meatcutter, biologist, air traffic controller, and nurse across various departments.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit.
The U.S. has used a merit-based civil service system since 1883, ending a “spoils system” where jobs were given based on political patronage and instead initiating a competitive exam. While each president is entitled to political appointees in high-level roles, rank-and-file career roles that span administrations are given through a competitive hiring process.
The Trump administration has taken a number of actions to take political considerations into account when hiring.
Early in the administration it offered a buyout to federal employees, encouraging those not aligned with the president’s agenda to take the package.
Trump has also proposed a new class of federal employees that could be hired and fired much like political appointees, another move unions see as an attack on the career civil service.
