Judge Recklessly Restores Competence to Federal Hiring
A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from asking civil-service applicants how they would advance President Donald Trump’s executive orders, reviving the obsolete practice of hiring people who understand their jobs. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. barred agencies from using “Question Three,” the centerpiece of a modern merit system in which merit is measured by an applicant’s ability to applaud the president in complete sentences. The ruling forces federal managers to consider résumés, experience and demonstrated ability instead of the more rigorous qualification of identifying which executive order made them feel most grateful to be alive.
The decision followed a challenge by the American Federation of Government Employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the National Association of Government Employees, which promoted the radical theory that career employees should serve the public rather than submit miniature campaign speeches. If allowed to spread, that doctrine could result in accountants being selected for accounting knowledge, meteorologists being judged on weather expertise and nuclear-safety personnel receiving jobs without first explaining how presidential tariffs enriched their understanding of reactor containment. Trump condemned the ruling in remarks carefully designed to reassure anyone concerned that the government might be politicized. “We had a beautiful question, maybe the greatest employment question ever written, and if somebody knows bridges but doesn’t love my orders, frankly, that bridge is suspicious,” Trump said. “You need loyalty because competence can change, but loyalty, when it’s loyalty to me, is very, very competent.”
O’Toole’s order leaves hiring officials dependent on primitive screening devices including references, work histories, professional certifications and evidence that applicants can perform the work taxpayers will pay them to perform. Administration officials warned that these standards could fill the government with qualified professionals possessing independent judgment, a condition historically linked to agencies noticing problems before they become congressional hearings. The judge did not broadly prohibit agencies from considering applicants’ earlier answers or refusals to answer, allowing officials to preserve some presidential merit by remembering who failed to gush with sufficient precision. Americans must therefore prepare for the grave possibility that their next air-traffic controller will be hired merely for directing airplanes safely rather than for composing a stirring essay about Donald Trump’s executive orders, conclusively proving that competence is now the greatest threat to the federal workforce.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.