The Trump Administration Will Now Favour "Patriotic Americans" For Jobs

In a sweeping reorientation of the federal workforce, the Trump administration has unveiled a comprehensive hiring plan that reshapes not only how federal employees are selected but also the values and commitments they are expected to bring to government service. 

At the heart of the administration's plan is a focus on patriotism, loyalty to the president's policy agenda, and a return to what it calls a “merit-based” system — one that abandons previous frameworks centred around equity and traditional credentialing.

The White House, in partnership with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), has laid out a detailed directive for federal agencies, instructing them to prioritise candidates who demonstrate alignment with President Trump's executive orders, his vision for government efficiency, and a clear dedication to constitutional principles. 

For the first time, applicants for jobs at the GS-5 pay grade and above will be required to submit essays explaining how they plan to uphold the Constitution, increase government efficiency, support Trump's policy initiatives, and demonstrate personal work ethic. 

The memo behind the plan — authored by Vince Haley, assistant to the president for domestic policy, and Charles Ezell, acting OPM director — criticises the current federal hiring system as overly complex and ideologically driven. 

According to the document, previous administrations emphasised “equity” and “diversity” quotas that resulted in hiring unqualified bureaucrats who lacked the skill and dedication to properly serve the public. The Trump team claims that this new approach will ensure that only the most “talented, capable, and patriotic” Americans will be granted the privilege of working in the federal government.

In line with this thinking, the administration is also seeking to redefine the talent pipeline. Rather than drawing from what it sees as an overemphasis on “elite universities and credentials,” the plan proposes reaching deeper into institutions and communities traditionally outside the federal hiring spotlight. 

These include state and land-grant universities, community colleges, religious and faith-based institutions, homeschooling groups, the military and veteran communities, law enforcement, and youth organisations like 4-H and the American Legion. 

One of the most controversial elements of the plan is the elimination of race, gender, and ethnicity as factors in federal hiring, recruitment, and promotion. The memo explicitly bans agencies from using demographic statistics or concepts like “underrepresentation” in making employment decisions. 

While Trump's allies see this as a long-overdue corrective measure to depoliticise and streamline federal hiring, critics argue it effectively imposes a political loyalty test on public servants. Requiring applicants to affirm support for a specific president's policy agenda is viewed by many as a distortion of what it means to serve in a nonpartisan civil service. “I think it's foolish,” said Paul Light, professor emeritus of public service at New York University, who expressed concern that this level of politicisation could further discourage talented professionals from entering government service — a sector already facing recruitment challenges, per a report by the Politico.

Jenny Mattingley of the Partnership for Public Service echoed this sentiment, emphasising that public sector hiring should be rooted in skill and service, not ideology. She pointed out that many federal employees — such as food inspectors, firefighters, and national park rangers — serve critical, nonpartisan roles and should not be subjected to politically driven evaluation criteria that have no bearing on their actual job performance.

The hiring plan also has an additional change. The hiring process also needs to be done within 80 days in response to Trump's order directing governmentwide hiring.