Strict “loyalty tests” have greeted job applicants hoping to join the administration of newly re-elected US President Donald Trump as White House teams spread across federal agencies to ensure applicants align with the MAGA (Make America Great Again) agenda.
Thus, the applicants are rather forced to prove their enthusiasm for Trump‘s policies, and those people with negative comments on social media are rejected flat out, AP reported. Perhaps the most controversial question asked is about the applicants’ “moment of MAGA revelation” – when they chose to support his 2024 campaign – and a choice of volunteering, fundraising, or door-knocking.
This candidate screening began the day Trump launched his re-election campaign and has continued to this day even after his win. Some officials have started referring to the new recruits sent by the White House to government agencies as “MAGA commissars”-by analogy, exactly like the Soviet-era Communist Party enforcers. According to three sources, these recruits often don’t have the qualifications or experience necessary for their given tasks but will do what they can for their new bosses; they’re dedicated to MAGA and the America First ideals as defined by Donald Trump. Any social media posting showing opposition to Donald Trump, any picture with someone opposing Trump, has meant either a rejected application or closer review.
According to reports, career diplomats in traditionally tensest domains at the State Department remain cautious about their views on policy or personnel for fear of repercussions from the new political leadership.
White House communications director Steven Cheung defended the process and countered that the people hired ought to be mission-aligned with the administration. In his explanation: “No one in the private sector hires a person not aligned with its mission, and neither should government. More than 1,300 people have been brought on while meeting the highest bar of competency.”
Trump was sworn into his second and last term in office on January 20 following his November 2024 re-election, with Kamala Harris being the opposition candidate as President Joe Biden would not seek reelection.