OPM's hiring strategy allegedly incorporates a pronounced loyalty litmus test, as per Lynch's claims
The Trump administration has stirred up a storm of controversy with the publication of its 'Merit Hiring Plan' last week. The plan, which includes new essay questions compulsory for federal applicants for all jobs at a GS-5 salary or above, has been met with criticism from various quarters.
One of the essay questions asks job seekers how they would help advance the president's executive orders and policy priorities. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., has blasted this question as an effort to politicize the federal workforce, urging the administration to rescind the plan. He called a provision mandating new essay questions about favourite Trump policies a "blatant loyalty test".
Jacque Simon, public policy director for the American Federation of Government Employees, echoed Lynch's sentiments in a statement last week. Simon described the requirement for candidates to answer how they'd advance President Trump's executive orders and policy priorities as a "glaring violation of merit principles". She stated that requiring candidates to muse positively about Donald Trump's executive orders and policies is contrary to everything the apolitical civil service stands for.
Simon also compared the new essay questions to Maoism, stating that glorification of a political leader cannot be a prerequisite for obtaining a federal job.
The criticism has not been limited to the political sphere. On June 27, 2023, Rep. Stephen Lynch was critical of the new essay questions, and the Office of Personnel Management released its new engagement plan for employment on August 16, 2023.
President Trump and his deputies have reinstated and renamed Schedule F, an initiative to strip tens of thousands of career employees in "policy-related" positions of their civil service protections. They have also encouraged agencies to fill more executive level jobs with political appointees rather than career members of the Senior Executive Service.
It is important to note that the oath of office does not require federal workers to swear to protect and defend executive orders or policy initiatives. It does not require that workers have loyalty to a president or to a political party. Every federal worker is legally required to take an oath of office that they will 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic'.
As the debate continues, it remains to be seen whether the 'Merit Hiring Plan' will stand or face a reversal. One thing is certain, though - the plan has sparked a heated discussion about the role of politics in the federal workforce.
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