Court Blocks Political “Loyalty Question” for Federal Job Applicants
NAGE and fellow unions secure an important victory protecting merit-based federal hiring
A federal court has blocked the Trump-Vance administration from enforcing a requirement that applicants for federal civil service positions answer a politically focused essay question about the President’s executive orders and policy priorities while litigation challenging the requirement continues.
The lawsuit was brought by the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
The case challenges a requirement implemented by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directing applicants for certain nonpolitical federal positions to explain how they would advance the President’s executive orders and policy priorities. More than 70,000 federal job postings have included the question.
The unions challenged the requirement as incompatible with the principles of a professional, nonpartisan civil service and argued that it violates federal law and constitutional protections by compelling political speech, chilling speech, and opening the door to viewpoint discrimination in federal hiring.
The court found that allowing the practice to continue would cause irreparable harm to workers applying to the merit-based civil service. The order prevents OPM from enforcing the requirement while the case moves forward.
NAGE: Federal Jobs Are Not Political Rewards
NAGE National President David J. Holway emphasized the importance of the ruling for both current and future federal employees.
“Today’s ruling makes clear that hiring in the federal workforce cannot be turned into a political loyalty question,” Holway said. “Federal jobs are not political rewards, and public service is not conditioned on allegiance to a president. When political loyalty becomes a prerequisite for public service, it erodes public trust and weakens democracy itself. Unions are a critical line of defense in protecting a professional, nonpartisan public workforce grounded in fairness, neutrality, and the rule of law.”
Protecting Merit-Based Federal Hiring
The ruling immediately prevents OPM from enforcing the challenged loyalty question while the lawsuit proceeds.
For federal workers and those seeking careers in public service, the decision reinforces a fundamental principle: federal employment should be based on merit and an individual’s ability to perform the job, not political allegiance.
The case is American Federation of Government Employees et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al.
NAGE will continue working alongside its partners to defend the rights of federal employees and protect a professional civil service that serves the American people.
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