Latest news with #VinceHaley
New York Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
How to Stack the Federal Work Force With ‘Patriotic Americans' Who Agree With Trump
The White House took a step last week that significantly undercuts the idea that federal employment should be nonpartisan. A May 29 memo from the Office of Personnel Management may seem technical, but the policy that it outlines has grave implications for how the government functions and creates an unconstitutional political test for federal hiring. At heart, the new policy is about viewpoint discrimination: People applying for federal jobs whose views the Trump administration does not like will not be hired. This is the most recent of the administration's actions to undermine the nonpartisan Civil Service and consolidate control over almost all federal employees in the White House. In a densely worded, 12-page memo, Vince Haley, an assistant to the president for domestic policy, and Charles Ezell, the acting O.P.M. director, make fealty to the president's agenda a criterion for hiring for most federal positions. Imposing such a litmus test for nonpolitical positions runs afoul of the nearly 150-year-old federal Civil Service law, the 1939 Hatch Act and the First Amendment. Under federal law, about 4,000 federal jobs are filled by political appointees. These positions allow the president to appoint those who share his views and to remove those who do not support his policy priorities. Most remaining federal jobs are hired based on nonpartisan and objective assessments of merit, and the hiring criteria are tied to the job duties. The recent memo would, in effect, dramatically expand that exception for political appointees to include everyone at what's known as level GS-5 or above — a group that includes clerical positions, technicians for soil conservation and firefighters. The ideologies and views of these individuals should play no role in their potential hiring. The policy announced in the memo requires every person applying for a position level GS-5 or above to submit four essays. One requires that the applicant address: '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.' Another prompt: '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.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
After DOGE firings White House asks new job seekers to write Trump loyalty essays, from lawyers to janitors
After a months-long freeze on hiring new federal employees and the Elon Musk-led DOGE cuts to the government workforce, the Trump administration is ready to resume civil service hiring — as long as the applicants answer a few essay questions about their level of loyalty to the president and his mission. The Office of Personnel Management last week quietly published a memorandum authored by Vince Haley, the White House 's head of domestic policy that was addressed to the head or acting head of every agency across the entire executive branch. According to the White House's directive, a copy of which was reviewed by The Independent, anyone applying for a civil service position at entry level or above — including such jobs as nurses, janitors, economists and lawyers, among others — must respond to a series of essay questions before they can even be considered for an interview. The 'merit hiring plan' lays out in detail how to implement a January executive order signed by Trump 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.' The plan also seeks to prevent anyone who is 'unwilling to defend the Constitution or to faithfully serve the Executive Branch' from being employed in the civil service. One question asks applicants about their 'commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States,' while another question asks applicants to state how they would 'help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities' and to 'identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives' that they find significant to them. They must also explain how they'd help implement these orders or initiatives. If applicants write answers that are satisfactory enough to land them an interview, the memorandum also states that they must participate in an 'executive interview' with a political appointee from 'agency leadership' who will evaluate their 'organizational fit and commitment to American ideals.' For civil service experts and good-government advocates, the new applicant screening process is setting off alarm bells. Adam Bonica, a Stanford University political scientist who publishes the 'On Data and Democracy' newsletter on Substack, wrote on Sunday that the White House's directive 'signals a profound departure from a cornerstone of American democracy: the non-partisan, merit-based civil service' and looks to implement Project 2025 efforts to deconstruct the nonpartisan civil service in favor of a return to the 'spoils system' that was in place until the late 1800s. 'A merit-based civil service that took generations to build is being dismantled via memo,' he charged. The new hiring guidelines aren't the only way Trump and his allies are upending the nonpartisan system that was set up to govern federal hiring in the wake of President James Garfield's 1881 assassination by a disgruntled office seeker. Shortly after he returned to power in January, Trump signed an executive order that ordered agencies to reclassify career employees who work on policy matters into a new 'schedule' that strips them of nearly all civil service protections. The directive largely re-implements an October 2020 order Trump signed to establish what was then called 'Schedule F' and was set to be comprised of any federal worker in 'confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating positions.' That broad category includes most of the government's non-partisan experts such as scientists, doctors, lawyers and economists, whose work to advise and inform policymakers is supposed to be done in a way that is fact-driven and devoid of politics. Combined with the more than 100,000 open positions created by the massive number of firings and resignations across the entire executive branch during Trump's first few months back in power, these new policies could allow the administration to recruit an equal number of MAGA devotees who would eventually acquire protection from removal by future administrations. Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, told Axios on Monday that it looks like the administration is 'emptying the shelves of the existing nonpartisan expert civil servants' and 'restocking' those same shelves with 'loyalists.' Jeri Buchholz, a former head of HR at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, told the outlet that traditional federal hiring, by law, was meant to 'focus on the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the position.' She said the Trump White House's required questions are by contrast 'philosophical' and 'not even aptitude related,' making them difficult to square with the 'merit hiring plan,' especially since it purports to require agencies to speed up hiring decisions.
Indian Express
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Must serve the pleasure of President': Trump administration to prioritise ‘patriotic Americans' for federal jobs
As part of a broader push to shrink the federal workforce, the Trump administration has unveiled a new hiring strategy aimed at ensuring that new government employees are 'patriotic Americans' committed to advancing the president's agenda, Politico reported. Outlined in a memo released Thursday by the White House and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the new directives mark a sharp departure from traditional federal hiring practices. The 'merit hiring plan,' as it's called, was the result of an executive order issued on Trump's first day in office to overhaul the federal recruitment system. According to Politico, the plan stipulates that only 'the most talented, capable and patriotic Americans' should be hired. It includes new essay requirements for job applicants at the GS-5 pay grade and above. Candidates must explain how they would uphold the Constitution, improve government efficiency, advance Trump's executive orders, and demonstrate work ethic. 'The overly complex Federal hiring system overemphasized discriminatory 'equity' quotas and too often resulted in the hiring of unfit, unskilled bureaucrats,' the memo states, as reported by Politico. It was authored by Vince Haley, assistant to the president for domestic policy, and Charles Ezell, acting director of OPM. The administration, long critical of career civil servants, has accused some of working against Trump's policy goals. To address this, the memo says applicants will be required to show personal commitment to the president's priorities. It also takes aim at current recruitment channels, saying they lean too heavily on 'elite universities and credentials.' As reported by Politico, the hiring effort will now focus on recruits from 'state and land-grant universities, religious colleges and universities, community colleges, high schools, trade and technical schools, homeschooling groups, faith-based groups, American Legion, 4-H youth programs, and the military, veterans, and law enforcement communities.' The plan also bars agencies from considering race, sex, or national origin in hiring or promotion decisions, and directs them to stop using demographic data or underrepresentation metrics. Agencies are instructed to 'cease using statistics on race, sex, ethnicity or national origin, or the broader concept of 'underrepresentation' of certain groups,' according to the memo seen by Politico. To accelerate hiring, the administration is pushing to reduce the overall time to hire to under 80 days across federal departments. Additionally, a second memo targets reforms within the Senior Executive Service (SES), the top tier of career federal employees. Trump, who has long insisted that SES officials 'must serve at the pleasure of the President,' is seeking to overhaul how senior leaders are selected and developed. That memo criticises the current SES hiring process as 'broken' and 'insular,' claiming it has produced executives who 'engage in unauthorized disclosure of Executive Branch deliberations, violate the constitutional rights of Americans, refuse to implement policy priorities, or perform their duties inefficiently or negligently.' According to Politico, the administration is also scrapping 'unlawful 'diversity, equity and inclusion' (DEI) criteria' from SES hiring. Future selections will be based on merit, competence, and alignment with executive priorities. To support this shift, OPM will launch an '80-hour intensive fee-based aspiring executive development program,' designed to train future senior leaders in line with Trump's vision. The program will be 'grounded in the Constitution, laws, and Founding ideals of our government, and will provide training on President Trump's Executive Orders,' the memo states. As reported by Politico, the training will equip future federal executives with 'the skills, knowledge, technical expertise, and strategic mindset necessary to excel in senior leadership roles.'
E&E News
30-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Trump admin to prioritize ‘patriotic Americans' for fed jobs
As President Donald Trump moves to slash the size of the federal workforce, his administration unveiled a plan to ensure that any new hires are 'patriotic Americans' who vow to advance the president's policy priorities. The White House and the agency that serves as the government's human resources arm Thursday released directives for departments to use when recruiting employees in a memo that represents a dramatic shift in federal hiring procedures. The administration's 'merit hiring plan' comes after Trump ordered a revamp to the federal hiring process on his first day in office. The resulting plan issued this week says it aims to ensure that 'only the most talented, capable and patriotic Americans' are hired by the government. Advertisement The 'overly complex Federal hiring system overemphasized discriminatory 'equity' quotas and too often resulted in the hiring of unfit, unskilled bureaucrats,' says the memo authored by Vince Haley, assistant to the president for domestic policy, and Charles Ezell, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal Job Seekers Will Be Quizzed on Trump's Executive Orders
(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration is adding four essay questions to applications for civil service jobs, asking applicants about their favorite executive orders and their commitment to government efficiency. NYC Congestion Toll Brings In $216 Million in First Four Months Now With Colorful Blocks, Tirana's Pyramid Represents a Changing Albania NY Wins Order Against US Funding Freeze in Congestion Fight The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move NY Congestion Pricing Is Likely to Stay Until Year End During Court Case The essay requirements apply even to relatively lower-level jobs starting at the GS-5 pay scale or above — positions that can begin at base salaries as low as $32,357. Those jobs include nursing assistants, park rangers and firefighters. The new questions, outlined in a memo from the Office of Personnel Management on Thursday, include ones that could give insight into the applicant's political philosophy for civil service jobs that are supposed to be nonpartisan. Among them: '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.' Another question, about how a job seeker would advance the president's executive orders or policy initiatives — is similar to a question asked of applicants for top political jobs as a loyalty test. It asks applicants to '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.' Two other questions ask how applicants would improve government efficiency and about their personal work ethic. Responses must be 200 words or fewer and the memo seeks to prevent any cheating. 'Applicants will be required to certify that they are using their own words, and did not use a consultant or AI,' the memo says, referring to artificial intelligence. The 30-page memo, from White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley and OPM acting director Charles Ezell, implements President Donald Trump's executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion in federal hiring. The order also required that the government prioritize hiring people '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.' But Trump is also reshaping the US government's workforce in other ways, overhauling the civil service system by giving him power to directly hire and fire as many as 50,000 jobs previously reserved for career federal employees. 'What we've seen is an overwhelming effort to cow the workforce and frankly ensure that there's a loyalty to the president of the day more than anything else,' said Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan group focused on improving the federal workforce. Asking the new questions is 'deeply problematic,' he said. 'Bluntly, it's an almost partisan and ideological overlay without understanding the responsibilities they're hiring for.' For example, there's no reason why a dental hygienist at the Department of Veterans Affairs should have an understanding of Trump's executive orders, Stier said. Beyond the content of the questions, Stier said adding four essay questions to an already burdensome federal hiring process can only make it more difficult for the government to hire the best workers, calling it 'a recipe for dysfunction.' But OPM says the questions aren't much different from those any employer would ask to make sure that a prospective employee fits with company culture. 'It is a best practice in hiring to ask all applicants the same questions,' said OPM spokeswoman McLaurine Pinover. 'The answers can then be evaluated by the hiring manager and agency leadership to evaluate whether the candidate would be a good fit for the role.' The federal personnel agency said the plan's overall goal is to reduce the length of the hiring process to less than 80 days and create 'a federal workforce that reflects the highest standards of merit and service.' The memo also implements new skill-based assessments, consisting of at least two tests of technical skills for many jobs, and eliminates unnecessary college degree requirements for many positions. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center How Coach Handbags Became a Gen Z Status Symbol ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
