The RecordExhibit 130
Asking applicants for career federal jobs how they would advance Trump's executive orders
Ruled unlawful means: A court ruled against it. Some rulings are on appeal.
Since May 2025, applications for career federal jobs have asked candidates to name one or two of the president's executive orders or policy initiatives that matter to them and explain how they would help carry them out. On Sept. 11, 2026, a federal judge ordered the question removed, finding that it likely violates applicants' free-speech rights.
What happened
The Office of Personnel Management told agencies in a May 2025 memo to add four essay questions to applications for jobs at or above the GS-5 level, as part of a 'merit hiring plan' that followed a January 2025 executive order on federal hiring. Three unions (the American Federation of Government Employees, AFSCME and the National Association of Government Employees) sued last year over the third question, which they call a loyalty test for a civil service that is supposed to be nonpartisan.
More than 70,000 job announcements have carried it, according to Democracy Forward, which represents the unions. The judge relied largely on the testimony of a Veterans Affairs employee who said she did not want to answer what she saw as a question about politics, but did so out of fear that skipping it would hurt her applications.
Where it stands
U.S. District Judge George O'Toole in Boston issued a stay order on Sept. 11, 2026, directing agencies to remove the question from all hiring announcements. He found the unions likely to succeed on their claims that the question violates the Administrative Procedure Act and applicants' First Amendment rights.
The order stays in effect until further rulings in the case, so it is not a final decision. He denied a wider request to stop agencies from considering answers applicants had already submitted. The personnel office was given until the end of the following week to tell agencies to take the question down. We found no report of an appeal.
The administration's side
Government lawyers argued that the judge had no jurisdiction, that such complaints belong before bodies like the Merit Systems Protection Board, and that the hiring plan's directives are not final agency actions a court can review. The personnel office said in 2025 that agencies must include the essay questions but candidates are not required to answer them.
The executive order behind the plan says federal hiring should favor highly skilled people committed to American ideals and interests. A spokesperson declined to comment on the ruling, saying the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Sources
Permanent link: https://unredactedrecord.com/e/loyaltyquestion/