A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from asking job applicants for nonpartisan civil service positions to explain how they would advance the president's policies, a move unions had decried as a partisan "loyalty question."
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole in Boston ruled Friday that the question, mandated by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), unlawfully politicized the hiring process. Three unions representing government workers sued last year, arguing the question attempted to assess applicants' support for President Donald Trump, which is barred by the Civil Service Reform Act for such positions.
The judge found that the unions were likely to succeed in showing that there was no legitimate government interest in inquiring into the political beliefs of applicants for federal civil service vacancies. O’Toole halted the question's use, stating it likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act by infringing on speech rights protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
The questioned was posed to applicants for a range of roles, including air traffic control specialist, crane operator, and nuclear materials courier. The unions argued that over 70,000 federal job postings had included the question, undermining the merit-based hiring system.
"Requiring federal job applicants to answer politically motivated questions goes against the very nature of the nonpartisan civil service," said AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a statement. The American Federation of Government Employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the National Association of Government Employees were the plaintiffs in the suit.
OPM had previously defended the question as optional and stated that hiring decisions would not be based on political beliefs. The administration adopted the question following an executive order signed by Trump in January 2025, which directed OPM to develop a hiring plan to bring "only highly skilled Americans dedicated to the furtherance of American ideals, values, and interests" into the federal workforce. An OPM memo in May 2025 outlined actions to implement this order, including the essay question for applicants.