Trump Administration Unveils Plan to Prioritize Patriotic Americans for Federal Jobs

The Trump administration has introduced a new plan to prioritize “patriotic Americans” for federal jobs, aiming to ensure that new hires align with President Donald Trump’s policy priorities. The White House and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released directives for departments to use when recruiting employees, marking a significant shift in federal hiring procedures.

The “merit hiring plan” follows Trump’s order to revamp the federal hiring process on his first day in office. The plan emphasizes hiring only the “most talented, capable, and patriotic Americans,” criticizing the previous system for overemphasizing “discriminatory ‘equity’ quotas” and often resulting in the hiring of “unfit, unskilled bureaucrats.”

Job applicants will now be required to write short essays detailing how they plan to advance Trump’s priorities, including their commitment to the Constitution, plans to improve government efficiency, and their work ethic. Critics argue that these requirements resemble a loyalty test and could further complicate recruitment efforts.

The plan also aims to diversify the pool of recruits by targeting state and land-grant universities, religious colleges, 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. Additionally, the administration has barred agency heads from using racial quotas and preferences in federal hiring, recruitment, and promotion.

The memo directs agencies to cease using statistics on race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in hiring or promotion decisions and to stop disseminating information about the composition of agencies’ workers based on these factors. The hiring plan also seeks to expedite the federal hiring process to under 80 days, as ordered by Trump.

Furthermore, the administration issued a memo detailing hiring and talent development plans for leaders within the federal government’s Senior Executive Service (SES). The memo criticizes the previous SES hiring process as “broken, insular,” and resulting in the hiring of executives who fail to implement policy priorities or perform their duties efficiently. The new plan eliminates “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) criteria and focuses on candidates’ efficiency, merit, competence, ability to lead, and ability to achieve results.

To build a pipeline of potential executive leaders, OPM will offer an 80-hour intensive “fee-based aspiring executive development program” grounded in the Constitution, laws, and Founding ideals, providing training on President Trump’s Executive Orders.