Washington (AP)-Jobseekers who hope to join the new Trump government will be confronted with a series of intense loyalty tests, in which screening teams from the White House are spreading to government agencies to check if there is “make America great again” bonaphide and carefully pars applicants. Politics and messages on social media.
President Donald Trump For a long time he believes that the biggest mistake he made during his first term, the adoption of what he considered was the wrong kind of people. Now, assistants work aggressively to ensure that the government only consists of loyalists.
Negative messages on social media have been enough to have applications derailed. Those looking for work were told that they will have to prove their “enthusiasm” to perform Trump’s agenda and it was asked when their moment of “Maga disclosure” took place. A federal employee said they briefly considered buying Trump’s crypto-meme coin in case the President’s team would ask about their voting behavior.
The intensive screening has led to some federal employees wondering whether the Trump team gives more about loyalty than for competence. There is concern about that His team expires diplomats in the field of foreign policy, national security and others That could offer administrative expertise and institutional knowledge in a time of global conflicts.
Trump officials have made no secret of their intention to fill the government with employees who share the president’s vision. They started to check potential staff members shortly after Trump launched his campaign and continued since he won.
On a application form on the transition website of Trump, for example, candidates are asked: “Which part of President Trump’s campaign message appeals to you the most and why?” According to a link obtained by The Associated Press.
It is also asked how they had supported Trump in the 2024 elections-with choices such as volunteering, fundraising, ringing and calling-and how to submit a list of their social media manuals.
“We interview each of these people. If you work in a political position at the federal government, it will now come through the White House, “said Persty Director Sergio Gor of the White House on Thursday to Fox News.
Trump, he said, “has been very clear about who he does not want to include in this government. And those are clear guidelines that we adhere to. And we bring the best possible people to the White House and to every department in this country. “
Screening teams are used at federal agencies
Some officials have sent the newcomers sent to federal agencies by the White House, contemptively called ‘Maga Commissioners’, a reference to officials of the Communist Party from the former Soviet Union.
They are generally young and many seem to have no specific expertise or background in the portfolios of the agencies in which they work, according to three American officials, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
They said that the screeners seem to look for even the smallest difference between the candidates and the Maga movement and the ‘America First’ policy of Trump. A negative message on social media or a photo with a Trump opponent was enough to reject some requests or to be on hold for further assessment.
One officer said that he and various colleagues from different authorities were told that even if they were to endure the first assessment process to be admitted to the candidate pool, they would still have to prove their bona fide reliability and convince interviewers of their ‘ Enthusiasm ‘to use to install Trump’s policy, including by providing references from people whose loyalty had already been proven.
This officer told a colleague who reached the interview phase, was asked when the moment of “Maga opening” of that person had taken place.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has been a special target for Trump since its first term of office, the current officials have described the atmosphere as ‘tense’ and ‘gloomy’, in which professional officials from the civil and foreign service are suspicious of their expressions Opinion about policy or human resources. Only politics, for fear of retraining their new political bosses.
Two old departmental officials noted that there is always a period of uncertainty at every change of board, but that the current transition to a group that wants to make radical changes in the management and the work of the department was different from what they experienced in the past.
Check for MAGA lines
Trump government officials had made clear plans for a robust screening process that would ensure that all officials within the government-and especially those who could help shape the policy-were aligned with the agenda of Trump, according to American government officials And people who were familiar with their schedule.
A former government official said that in December he encountered a senior official of the Trump government who told him that Trump’s team would be more thoughtful about the way they have arranged and even prisoners. These are non-political career experts in the field of topics that vary from the fight against terrorism to global climate policy, which are lent by other authorities to the White House for extensive assignments.
All the initiated, the person said, would receive questionnaires to make sure that they would completely support the Trump agenda.
The AP reported that career officials who work at the National Security Council of the White House High officers of the Trump government were questioned about which candidate they voted for the elections, their political contributions and whether they have posted messages on social media that can be considered a burden on the Trump team.
Wednesday about 160 NSC detailess who worked in the Biden government were told that they were sent home So that the Trump team could carry out an evaluation to make sure that his staff was in line with the Trump agenda.
“Every president is entitled to a staff and the advisers they need to achieve the goals for which the American people have chosen him to pursue,” said Brian McCormack, Chef of the National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, in a phone call of two minutes. This is apparent from a recording obtained by the AP.
One NSC director heard that every Detailee had to be screened and that they would be questioned about whom they had voted, political contributions and messages on social media, according to a person who was familiar with the case.
Civil servants of the White House defend their approach
“No one needs to be surprised that those who are hired join the mission of the government. No one in the private sector would ever hire someone who is not mission-oriented, and that should be no different with the government, “said Witte Huis spokesperson Steven Cheung.
“More than 1,300 people were hired, while retaining the highest competence standards,” he added.
Every new president tries to fill the thousands of government jobs they control with political initiative – whereby he rewards campaign employees, allies, supporters and donors with nice positions. The presidential staff office of the White House exists to recruit, screen and manage these employees.
It is common to ask applicants about their political preferences. In some cases this is required, for example when fulfilling jobs at agencies or committees that require a partial balance.
Trump’s White House elaborates on the political history of potential initiative, partly because it has created an ideological space that often differs from traditional Republican Orthodoxy, which means that outright partiality is an unreliable indicator of his agenda.
“The behavior of the Trump government and the imposition of a political litmus or loyalty test betrays the oath that the President took on Monday to retain, protect and defend the constitution,” says Donald K. Sherman, executive director of Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government group of the government. “What this suggests for me is that showing loyalty is just as important or more important than merit.”
Gor said in his FOX interview that the Witte Huis staff office, in addition to hiring staff, also works on exterminating employees who are unfaithful to Trump.
“We also clean the house. And so we started the process of ending many positions, “he said. “It’s time for a new start.”
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Colvin reported from New York. AP Witte Huis correspondent Zeke Miller and Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.