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Those interviewing for positions within the incoming Trump administration will have to do more than prove their qualifications for the job, with new reports claiming they must answer a series of strategic questions prove their loyalty that Donald Trump
At least nine people interviewed for the job or were involved in the process he said The New York Times that questions were raised about January 6, the validity of the 2020 election and their voting decisions.
Those questions seem designed to be brushed aside future members of the board who show no obvious loyalty to Trump.
Those who provided answers condemning the Jan. 6 violence or suggesting that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election told the newspaper that they did not get the job.
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk is among MAGA loyalists tasked with interviewing potential recruits for positions at the Pentagon or other intelligence agencies, according to The Times.
Not every future employee was asked questions related to loyalty. That seems to have been the inquiry set in the final rounds of interviews.
The new report largely aligns with what Trump’s allies have said publicly.
Howard Lutnik, the co-chairman of Trump’s transition team and the head of the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, said to Financial TimesOctober that all administration officials “will be on the same page”.
“We will give people a role based on their capacity — and their allegiance and loyalty to the policy as well as to the person,” Lutnik said.
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest Trump son who is helping with the transition process, said Axios in July that his goal is to prevent “bad actors” from infiltrating his father’s administration — unlike those who turned against Trump during his first administration.
Loyalty is key for the president-elect as many of his first-term cabinet members and administration officials have turned against him.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former Chief of Staff John Kelly, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former Defense Secretaries James Mattis and Mark Esper, along with many others, have condemned Trump since working with him.
Even his vice president, Mike Pence, has refused to endorse him in the 2024 presidential election.
Now Trump’s team is conducting its own vetting process for potential administration members. That includes scoring potential hires in multiple categories, researching past comments they may have made about Trump and going through a series of interviews.
Other cabinet members have special methods of vetting potential aides and officials. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. allegedly set up an online test which asks individuals a series of riddles, questions about language and personality.
Trump’s spokesman, coming The White House said press secretary Karoline Leavitt The Times“President Trump will continue to appoint highly qualified men and women who have the talent, experience and skills necessary to make America great again.”