Those seeking a job in the federal government will now have to write an essay in support of President Donald Trump's executive orders, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.
Vince Haley, the White House's head of domestic policy, wrote in the May 29 memorandum that all civil service applicants must answer a series of essays as part of the job recruitment process, including one about how they would "help advance" Trump's policy priorities.
Newsweek has contacted the Office of Personnel Management for comment via email outside normal working hours.
Why It Matters
Since assuming office in January, Trump has overseen a shake-up of the federal workforce, implementing hiring freezes and mass layoffs to downsize the government in the name of efficiency. The president's actions have sparked criticism and legal challenges.
With the federal hiring freeze scheduled to end on July 15, the government has begun to consider how it will recruit workers moving forward.
What To Know
According to the memo, the federal government's strategy to hire people to the civil service, dubbed the "Merit Hiring Plan," will require certain applicants to write four 200-word essays about their work ethic, skills and experience, commitment to the Constitution, and plans to "advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities."
The essay questions are as follows:
1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. 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.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.
The plan, as outlined in the memo, would also decrease hiring time for new candidates to under 80 days; implement a skills-based hiring approach that would reduce the need for "unnecessary degree requirements"; and end the use of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in hiring and recruitment, which the memo described as "racial discrimination."
What People Are Saying
Scott Lucas, a professor in international politics at University College Dublin, told Newsweek that Project 2025 "set this out" with government cuts and other Trump initiatives, so the news was not surprising. "This is an authoritarian regime," he said.
Adam Bonica, a political scientist at Stanford University, wrote in a Substack post: "A merit-based civil service that took generations to build is being dismantled via memo."
Max Stier, the president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, told Axios: "They're emptying the shelves of the existing nonpartisan expert civil servants, and they're restocking with the loyalists."
Paul Light, a professor emeritus of public service at New York University, told Politico: "I think it's foolish. It's hard enough to get talent these days."
The Office of Personnel Management said in the memorandum: "The American people deserve a federal workforce dedicated to American values and efficient service."
What Happens Next
More cuts to the federal government are planned. The White House has said that when the hiring freeze ends, it will allow agencies to hire no more than one employee for every four employees that have left the federal service.
Corrected on 06/05/2025 at 6:28 p.m. ET to correct reference to federal government