US judge blocks Trump administration’s ’loyalty’ question for job applicants

A federal judge in Boston has ruled against the Trump administration's decision to include a political "loyalty" question for job applicants seeking civil service positions across the government. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole sided with three unions representing government workers who claimed the question, which asked applicants to write essays on how they would advance President Trump's policies, unfairly politicized the hiring process.

The unions argued that by attempting to assess applicants' political views, the question violated the Civil Service Reform Act and infringed on their First Amendment speech rights. Judge O’Toole found that the question, which had been asked for positions ranging from air traffic control specialists to nuclear materials couriers, had likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

Over 70,000 federal job postings had included the question, undermining the merit-based hiring system. The American Federation of Government Employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the National Association of Government Employees welcomed the ruling, stating that it protected the nonpartisan nature of the civil service.

The Office of Personnel Management, which introduced the question, had defended it as optional and claimed that hiring decisions could not be based on political beliefs. The administration has not yet commented on the ruling.