US judge blocks Trump administration's 'loyalty' question for job applicants
Judge George O’Toole Jr. said applicants faced irreparable harm and found no legitimate government interest in asking about political beliefs.
- On Friday, District Judge George O'Toole blocked President Donald Trump's administration from requiring civil service job applicants to answer a 'loyalty question' in an Office of Personnel Management directive.
- The administration implemented this requirement in May 2025 as part of the Merit Hiring Plan, prompting three unions representing government workers to sue, arguing the mandate unlawfully politicized hiring by assessing support for the Republican president.
- O'Toole ruled the policy likely violates the Administrative Procedure Act and First Amendment speech rights, noting that over 70,000 federal job postings included the question, which applicants reasonably interpreted as a test of their political views.
- Under the court's order, OPM must notify all federal agencies within seven days to halt the question's use, with AFGE National President Everett Kelley praising the ruling as a 'blatantly illegal attempt to hire partisan cronies.'
- Although the agency previously defended the essay as optional, the stay remains in effect until further court orders, as unions maintain that merit-based hiring is essential to a professional, nonpartisan federal workforce serving the American people.
16 Articles
16 Articles
US judge blocks Trump administration's 'loyalty' question for job applicants
A federal judge on Friday blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from continuing to ask applicants for civil service jobs throughout the government to respond to what unions described as a partisan "loyalty question."
U.S. judge blocks Trump administration’s ‘loyalty’ question for job applicants | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
BOSTON >> A federal judge on Friday blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from continuing to ask applicants for civil service jobs throughout the government to respond to what unions described as a partisan “loyalty question.”
Judge boots Trump 'loyalty' question from civil service job applications
A federal judge issued a stay forbidding the administration from asking those seeking jobs in the federal government to say how they would help carry out presidential executive orders, in what had been seen as a test of "loyalty" to President Trump.
A court has blocked the questioning of Trump's policies against applicants for government jobs in the US. A federal court in Boston ruled that the government has no legitimate basis to inquire about applicants' political views.
Trump's 'blatantly illegal' loyalty question for federal workers slapped down
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from requiring civil service job applicants to profess loyalty to the president.U.S. District Judge George O'Toole issued the order Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston, siding with three unions that represent federal workers.The ruling halts an Office of Personnel Management directive that told agencies to include an essay question asking applica…
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