Latest news with #MeritHiringPlan
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Administration Makes New Federal Employees Write Essays to Prove MAGA Loyalty
New hiring guidelines from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management reveal that government applicants will have to answer four 200-word essay questions to be considered for a job in the Trump administration. Questions include an inquiry into which of Trump's executive orders have been "significant" to their lives. Trump implemented a government-hiring freeze upon his inauguration on Jan. 20, which is expected to be lifted on July 15. While the first four months of President Donald Trump's second term have been characterized by mass layoffs and hiring freezes, the government is about to start accepting new employees — with one major new requirement. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management laid out the guidelines for hopeful applicants in a May 29 memo. In keeping with Trump's rejection of diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices, the memo stresses that the 'Merit Hiring Plan' focuses on 'skills-based hiring, eliminating unnecessary degree requirements, and requiring the use of rigorous, job-related assessments to ensure candidates are selected based on their merit and competence, not their skin color or academic pedigree.' One of those "assessments," the memo explains, is four 200-word essay questions each applicant must answer in order to prove that they would be a good fit for the Trump administration. The questions, particularly the third, ask the applicant to prove their mettle not only through personal qualification, but also with an ideological alignment with the administration's existing policies. Read the full essay questions below: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. 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. 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. 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 his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump implemented a federal hiring freeze, which he later extended to July 15. In February, he issued another executive order implementing a 'workforce optimization initiative" with the assistance of the Department of Government Efficiency, which was headed by Elon Musk until recently. The order explained that, when the hiring freeze was lifted, government agencies were to hire only one employee for each four that had left or been laid off. Following that order and several others reflecting the administration's plan to 'prioritize recruitment of individuals committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution,' 21 DOGE employees submitted their resignations. The employees claimed that, beginning one day after Trump's inauguration, they had been taken in for 15-minute interviews with individuals wearing White House visitor badges, who refused to identify themselves and 'asked questions about political loyalty, attempted to pit colleagues against each other, and demonstrated limited technical ability.' 'We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans' sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,' the letter continued. 'We will not lend our expertise to carry out or legitimize DOGE's actions.' For his part, Musk left the White House on Friday, May 30, as his 130-day limit as a special government employee had come to an end. On his way out, the tech billionaire also issued some criticisms of Trump's administration, claiming that the president's touted 'Big Beautiful Bill' was set to undermine all the work he'd done at DOGE. 'I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' he told CBS Sunday Morning in an interview that aired on June 1. The "Big, Beautiful Bill" is funding its tax cuts and military spending in part by cutting some federal health and energy programs. However, it is also poised to add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the national deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both," Musk said. Read the original article on People
Newsweek
14 hours ago
- Business
- Newsweek
New Federal Employees Must Now Write Essays Praising Trump's Policies
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. 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. President Donald Trump walking on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 30. President Donald Trump walking on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 30. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin What To Know According to the memo, the feral 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.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration bans agencies from considering race or gender in hiring process
The Trump administration on Thursday issued new guidelines barring federal agencies from considering race or gender in the hiring process. The guidelines, part of a Merit Hiring Plan sent to agency leaders, also call for preventing the hiring of workers unwilling to 'faithfully serve the Executive Branch.' 'The overly complex Federal hiring system overemphasized discriminatory 'equity' quotas and too often resulted in the hiring of unfit, unskilled bureaucrats,' the Office of Personnel Management wrote in a memo to agency leaders. The memo stems from an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office that seeks to 'restore merit to government service.' The administration has already moved to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs within federal agencies and sought to extend that effort to institutions and companies that interact with the federal government. The hiring plan comes as the federal government has been implementing mass layoffs known as reductions in force, or RIFs, though that process has been put on hold at multiple agencies by federal courts. The administration has also restricted how many new hires agencies can add to their ranks — with only one new position for every four people who depart. OPM is seeking to reduce the hiring process to fewer than 80 days. The memo also calls for eliminating unnecessary degree requirements in favor of skills-based hiring, which both Republicans and Democrats have supported. However, it also requires that agencies use 'rigorous, job-related assessments to ensure candidates are selected based on their merit and competence, not their skin color or academic pedigree,' which has been a focus of Republicans. The 30-page memo orders agencies to stop using statistics on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin or the concept of 'underrepresentation' in hiring, recruiting, retention or promotion decisions. It also prevents agencies from releasing data on the compositions of their workforces based on race, sex, color, religion or national origin. And it ends all programs and initiatives related to hiring, training and promotions based on these criteria, while warning that any hiring manager or employee will face disciplinary action if they engage in 'unlawful race preferential discrimination.' 'An asserted interest in 'diversity' or 'equity' cannot justify discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin,' the memo reads. OPM also takes a shot at the nation's top universities, several of which the Trump administration is targeting, in its mandate to broaden early career recruitment efforts. 'Federal hiring too often focuses on elite universities and credentials, instead of merit, practical skill, and commitment to American ideals,' the memo reads. Instead, the office directs agencies to target recruitment at state universities, religious colleges, community colleges and trade schools, homeschooling groups, faith-based groups and the military, among others. Axios first reported on the memo.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration bans race, gender data in federal workforce hiring
The Trump administration directed its agencies to not hire individuals based on their race, sex or religion while it works to overhaul the federal government through major cuts and restructuring. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) outlined the 'Merit Hiring Plan' in a memo sent to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies on Thursday, which directed them to not use statistics on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin or 'the broader concept of 'underrepresentation'' to hire or recruit. It calls on agencies to stop publishing and distributing information on the composition of the workforce based on race, sex, color, religion or national origin and to end all programs related to hiring that 'discriminate' against groups. OPM says disciplinary action must be taken if a hiring manager engages in any 'unlawful race preferential discrimination.' The plan calls for the end to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in hiring, calling them 'illegal, demeaning and immoral.' 'OPM is committed to creating a federal workforce that reflects the highest standards of merit and service,' acting director Charles Ezell said in a statement. 'This plan ensures we hire based on talent, dedication, and constitutional principles, delivering a government that works effectively for all Americans.' Another goal of the plan is an effort to 'prevent the hiring of individuals who are unwilling to defend the Constitution or to faithfully serve the Executive Branch.' It prioritizes the hiring of those who are committed to improving government efficiency and decreasing the time-to-hire to under 80 days and 'integrate modern technology to support the recruitment and selection process.' OPM aims to reform the federal workforce recruitment process 'to ensure that only the most talented, capable and patriotic Americans are hired' and to implement skilled-based hiring over 'unnecessary degree requirements.' OPM also announced that on June 30, agency's human capital officers will send reports to OPM and the Office of Management and Budget on recruitment and eliminating such practices the administration deems discriminatory. The Trump administration has been focused on eliminating DEI in the federal government and has threatened to remove federal funding and grants for private institutions if they don't do away with diversity efforts. The administration pushed Harvard University to end DEI programs and to alter its hiring and admissions processes and has cut billions of dollars in federal funding when the university pushed back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump administration bans race, gender data in federal workforce hiring
The Trump administration directed its agencies to not hire individuals based on their race, sex or religion while it works to overhaul the federal government through major cuts and restructuring. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) outlined the 'Merit Hiring Plan' in a memo sent to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies on Thursday, which directed them to not use statistics on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin or 'the broader concept of 'underrepresentation'' to hire or recruit. It calls on agencies to stop publishing and distributing information on the composition of the workforce based on race, sex, color, religion or national origin and to end all programs related to hiring that 'discriminate' against groups. OPM says disciplinary action must be taken if a hiring manager engages in any 'unlawful race preferential discrimination.' The plan calls for the end to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in hiring, calling them 'illegal, demeaning and immoral.' 'OPM is committed to creating a federal workforce that reflects the highest standards of merit and service,' acting director Charles Ezell said in a statement. 'This plan ensures we hire based on talent, dedication, and constitutional principles, delivering a government that works effectively for all Americans.' Another goal of the plan is an effort to 'prevent the hiring of individuals who are unwilling to defend the Constitution or to faithfully serve the Executive Branch.' It prioritizes the hiring of those who are committed to improving government efficiency and decreasing the time-to-hire to under 80 days and 'integrate modern technology to support the recruitment and selection process.' OPM aims to reform the federal workforce recruitment process 'to ensure that only the most talented, capable and patriotic Americans are hired' and to implement skilled-based hiring over 'unnecessary degree requirements.' OPM also announced that on June 30, agency's human capital officers will send reports to OPM and the Office of Management and Budget on recruitment and eliminating such practices the administration deems discriminatory. The Trump administration has been focused on eliminating DEI in the federal government and has threatened to remove federal funding and grants for private institutions if they don't do away with diversity efforts. The administration pushed Harvard University to end DEI programs and to alter its hiring and admissions processes and has cut billions of dollars in federal funding when the university pushed back.
