A Federal Judge has blocked the Trump Administration from requiring Federal Agency job applicants to write an essay about their favorite Trump administration initiative, siding with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) - an Affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), in their lawsuit. Unions filed a complaint after the Office of Personnel Management issued a “Merit Hiring Plan” in May 2025. The Court found this unlawful requirement violates the First Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Privacy Act. AFSCME President Patrick Moran said: “This is a major win for Public Service Workers and the communities we serve. These ‘loyalty questions’ are a blatantly illegal attempt to hire partisan cronies who would endanger our communities by putting politics before people, rather than dedicated, qualified Public Service Workers.” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said: “Requiring Federal job applicants to answer politically-motivated questions goes against the very nature of the non-partisan Civil Service and we are pleased the Judge has put an immediate stop to the administration’s loyalty questions. Federal employees should be hired based solely on their ability to perform the job - not their allegiance to any particular Administration.” NAGE National President David Holway added: “Today’s ruling makes clear that hiring in the Federal Workforce cannot be turned into a political loyalty question. Federal jobs are not political rewards and public service is not conditioned on allegiance to a President.”

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AFGE Photo.