The White House is giving potential job candidates litmus tests in interviews to make sure they are sufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump and his second-term agenda, according to people familiar with the process.
Among the questions asked of multiple candidates: Would you be willing to serve as a spokesperson for mass deportations? Which of Trump’s executive orders is your favorite? Who won the 2020 presidential election? And which Trump policy do you disagree with?
Job seekers are asked their views on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and tried to overturn the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory. Trump pardoned hundreds of people convicted of crimes linked to the assault, which killed at least seven people and injured 150 police officers. He has called the day’s events a peaceful protest.
Several candidates for top tier jobs at federal agencies, which require specific expertise, said they have found the litmus tests odd, with questions probing matters far afield from their likely duties if selected for a job.
The open roles include assistant secretary and undersecretary positions focused on certain policy areas within cabinet departments, as well as staff-level posts that work closely with top officials.
The review process is being led by Sergio Gor, a Republican political operative who is now the director of the presidential personnel office. A former staffer for Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, Gor built close ties with Trump following his first term and helped raise funds for his 2024 campaign.
The details about the White House vetting process were described to Bloomberg News by people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified out of concern that sharing the information could diminish their hiring prospects or lead to retaliation, or because they weren’t authorized to disclose details to the media.
With roughly 4,000 political jobs to fill, top aides are searching for appointees who thoroughly support Trump. While it isn’t unusual for presidents to seek senior policymakers and staff who share their priorities, the degree to which the administration has been asking job candidates to toe a partisan line goes beyond the norm, according to people familiar with the process.
A White House official said the personnel office has filled more than 1,300 executive branch vacancies since Trump’s inauguration. As of Tuesday, more than 200 nominees have been sent to the Senate and over 2,000 offers to potential hires have been extended. Onboarding has either begun or been completed for 1,600 of them, according to the official, who called it an unprecedented pace.
The official said interview questions are meant to ensure candidates’ values align with Trump’s agenda. Candidates also must undergo a background check prior to receiving a job offer, which includes a review of their political donations and online presence.
Allies and former aides say loyalty is what matters most to Trump.
“President Trump wants to profoundly reform the federal system,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “That requires that he has people who agree with him and will execute his general agenda.”
Unfilled Roles
As the president has signaled a sharp shift in US policy toward key allies and put in place new tariffs on major trading partners, the departments of State, Commerce and Treasury, as well as the US Trade Representative, still have many open positions, according to people familiar with the administration’s staffing levels.
Many top roles that require Senate confirmation are being carried out by career staff in an acting capacity until the administration puts forward nominees.
At the same time, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has sought the dismissal of thousands of federal employees at all levels.
The Trump administration deployed similar loyalty tests toward the end of his first term in 2020. As Covid-19 ravaged the economy and closed schools, the presidential personnel office spent weeks interviewing appointees to test their commitment to Trump’s agenda.
Officials were quizzed on their support of Trump’s policies and what they thought of the US-China relationship. The interviews were intended to figure out staffing for a second term, officials said at the time, but then Trump lost the 2020 election.
Personnel Chief
Trump has told friends and aides he was particularly burned in his first term by top appointees at the Pentagon and Justice Department, who he said didn’t go along his wishes or allowed investigations into him to proceed.
Gor, the personnel director, forged a close connection with Trump in the aftermath of his loss to Biden. When publishers were wary of Trump’s book, Gor founded his own conservative imprint to put it out.
A frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago between Trump’s terms, dining with the president and DJing on the social club’s back patio, Gor helped run a super PAC funded by former Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter that backed Trump in the 2024 campaign.
Gor traveled to Greenland with Donald Trump Jr. after the president said he’d like to annex it and was appointed to the Kennedy Center board after Trump made himself its chairman. He recently was seen dining with Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, and a handful of other aides in Palm Beach.
Gor didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Many candidates aren’t clearing the Gor team’s vetting, which includes combing through social media, op-eds, speeches and public comments for criticism of Trump or disagreement with his views on tariffs, the war in Ukraine and other issues, people familiar with the matter said.
The only way for a potential applicant to overcome any red flags is for a high-level official or cabinet member to personally vouch for them, the people said.
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Still, the people said that senior administration figures have been wary of expending too much political capital on personnel as they contend with DOGE’s wider efforts to downsize the bureaucracy and try to stay in Trump’s good graces.
The hunt for loyal staffers is another sign of how Trump has bent the Republican party to his will. Gone are the days when advisers from the Mitt Romney presidential campaign or either Bush administration could easily get a job.
As Trump turns away from the old guard, the party establishment has fallen in line. The Senate backed all his cabinet picks, even those who hold views that once would have been outside the GOP mainstream.
Trump expects his appointees at the federal agencies to display deference and adherence to his agenda, allies and advisers say.
“We’ll do a much better job now because I know the people now. I know the good ones, the bad ones. I know the weak ones, the strong ones. I know the stupid ones,” Trump said at a rally in North Carolina toward the end of the 2024 race. “I know the smart ones. I know them all.”
