09-07-2025
Interior implements Trump's essay requirement in federal hiring
The Interior Department will ask job applicants to answer several essay questions inked by the Trump administration that have been criticized as a litmus test for loyalty to the president's agenda, according to a memo sent out last week from the department's human capital office.
The essay questions, which include asking applicants to state which of the president's executive orders are most significant to them, originated in a plan to revamp federal hiring by the president's Office of Personnel Management.
Dubbed the 'Merit Hiring Plan,' the changes included several long-standing and bipartisan proposals to improve federal job reviews, such as implementing skills-based hiring and shortening the notoriously lengthy federal resume, alongside new initiatives from the Trump administration.
Advertisement
In addition to the four essay questions quizzing applicants on Trump's priorities and their loyalty to the Constitution, the OPM changes mandate that agencies stop collecting information about the race, sex and religion of the workforce.
