unions Sue Trump Management Over New Federal Job Submission ‘Loyalty Question’
WASHINGTON – Threeโฃ major federal employee unions haveโ filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s addition of an essay question about “loyalty” to federal job โขapplications, alleging the move is a politically motivated attempt to purge the civil service. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American โฃFederation of state, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the National Association of Government โEmployees (NAGE) argueโข the โquestion violates civil service laws and seeks to prioritize โขpolitical allegiance over qualifications.
The essay question,now appearing on overโข 5,800 federal job applications โ- including 1,700 posted during the ongoingโข government shutdown – asks applicants to describe how their past โขexperiences demonstrate aโค commitment to the countryโ and its โฃvalues. โWhile the Office ofโข Personnel Management (OPM) โฃhas stated โthe question isโ “mandatory” for agencies toโค include, it is “optional” for candidates to answer, according โขto an August communication โขto federal โhumanโ resourcesโ officials.
The lawsuit โcontends that anโข applicant’s political views areโข irrelevant to their ability โto performโค civil service โขroles, citing examples โขranging from โคmeatcutting workers at theโค Defense Department โฃto research biologists at the Agriculture โDepartment and laundry workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Forcing job applicants to answer โฃpolitically motivatedโ questions comes straight โขfrom the Project 2025 playbook, which aims to replace dedicated, โคnonpartisan public servants with workers chosen for their political loyalty rather than their qualifications or their oath to uphold the Constitution,” โคsaid AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a statement.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders accused the โขadministration of attempting to “push out experienced public service workers with โcronies who will blindly follow โขorders,”โฃ while NAGE President David J.โ Holway โฃlabeled the changes “a direct assaultโ on that legacy and on โขevery โpublic servant’sโ oath to uphold the Constitution.”
The unions’ lawsuit seeks toโข haltโข the use of the essay question and protect โthe integrity of the federal โhiring process. The case arrivesโฃ amid heightened concerns about the โpoliticization of the civil service โand potential disruptions to government operations.