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The Trump administration on Thursday issued new guidelines barring federal agencies from considering race or gender in the hiring process.
The guidelines, part of a Merit Hiring Plan sent to agency leaders, also call for preventing the hiring of workers unwilling to “faithfully serve the Executive Branch.”
“The overly complex Federal hiring system overemphasized discriminatory ‘equity’ quotas and too often resulted in the hiring of unfit, unskilled bureaucrats,” the Office of Personnel Management wrote in a memo to agency leaders.
The memo stems from an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office that seeks to “restore merit to government service.” The administration has already moved to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs within federal agencies and sought to extend that effort to institutions and companies that interact with the federal government.
The hiring plan comes as the federal government has been implementing mass layoffs known as reductions in force, or RIFs, though that process has been put on hold at multiple agencies by federal courts. The administration has also restricted how many new hires agencies can add to their ranks — with only one new position for every four people who depart.
At least one group that advocates for good governance criticized the memo, saying it’s yet another example of the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal workforce into one that’s loyal to the president, not the American people.
The memo’s focus on the president’s executive orders was particularly troubling, said Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. He pointed to a question that many job candidates would be required to answer as part of their application: “How would you 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.”
“It is deeply problematic because it is, again, an effort to highlight loyalty to the individual over the rule of law and to the critical functions of the job,” said Stier, who also voiced concern about the memo dictating that agency leadership – namely political appointees – would be involved in the hiring process.
OPM is seeking to reduce the hiring process to fewer than 80 days. The memo also calls for eliminating unnecessary degree requirements in favor of skills-based hiring, which both Republicans and Democrats have supported. However, it also requires that agencies use “rigorous, job-related assessments to ensure candidates are selected based on their merit and competence, not their skin color or academic pedigree,” which has been a focus of Republicans.
The 30-page memo orders agencies to stop using statistics on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin or the concept of “underrepresentation” in hiring, recruiting, retention or promotion decisions. It also prevents agencies from releasing data on the compositions of their workforces based on race, sex, color, religion or national origin.
And it ends all programs and initiatives related to hiring, training and promotions based on these criteria, while warning that any hiring manager or employee will face disciplinary action if they engage in “unlawful race preferential discrimination.”
“An asserted interest in ‘diversity’ or ‘equity’ cannot justify discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin,” the memo reads.
OPM also takes a shot at the nation’s top universities, several of which the Trump administration is targeting, in its mandate to broaden early career recruitment efforts.
“Federal hiring too often focuses on elite universities and credentials, instead of merit, practical skill, and commitment to American ideals,” the memo reads.
Instead, the office directs agencies to target recruitment at state universities, religious colleges, community colleges and trade schools, homeschooling groups, faith-based groups and the military, among others.
Axios first reported on the memo.
This story has been updated with additional details.
