Federal employee unions are suing the Trump administration over a hiring question they say is designed to test applicants’ loyalty to the president.
In a complaint filed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the unions say the US Office of Personnel Management’s question violates the First Amendment by imposing an unconstitutional condition of employment.
At issue is a portion of the application that asks prospective workers how they would “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,” the prompt continues.
In a statement, OPM Director Scott Kupor said the essay questions, of which there are four in total, are strictly optional.
“We have been very clear that hiring decisions cannot consider political or ideological beliefs,” Kupor said, pointing to additional guidance released by the office in June. “The plan prohibits any ideological litmus tests and reinforces the nonpartisan character of the federal workforce.”
Plaintiffs include the American Federation of Government Employees; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and the National Association of Government Employees.
The case is AFGE v. OPM, D. Mass., 1:25-cv-13305, complaint filed 11/6/25.
(Updated in the fifth paragraph to include a statement from OPM. Story originally published Nov. 6. )
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