White House sending questionnaire to potential aides testing their loyalty to Trump

Candidates must say which part of president’s campaign 'most appealed' to them

President Donald Trump walks along the colonnade to greet Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Tom Brenner)

The White House has created a new questionnaire to vet potential political appointees by testing their loyalty to President Donald Trump.

The questionnaire, which was distributed by the Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) to federal departments earlier this week, refers to Trump five times.

The previous questionnaire did not feature Trump’s name at all.

The new version includes questions such as “What part of candidate Trump’s campaign message most appealed to you and why?”

Although it is not unusual for administrations to use questions about applicants’ political alignment, the previous questionnaire did not ask about Trump or his campaign.

Similarly, the document goes beyond previous questionnaires by asking whether potential appointees have been on the media to comment on “Candidate Trump, President Trump or other personnel or policies of the Trump Administration”.

Candidates are also asked to describe their “political evolution” and to say which “political commentator, thinker or politician” best reflects their views.

Speaking about the new questionnaires, Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, said: “Every President has the right to appoint people who are in line with their agenda and policies.”

However, one former Obama staffer told CBS News: “Those questions are the opposite of everything we stood for. We went out of our way to not ask those types of political questions.”

John McEntee, 29, a long-time Trump loyalist who was recently appointed as the director of the PPO, is behind the new application form.

As well as emphasising loyalty in the recruitment process, Mr McEntee reportedly called a meeting last month in which he asked officials to root out Trump critics from their midst, according to the US news website Axios.

These developments come as President Trump, in the wake of his impeachment by the House, is more concerned than ever by what he perceives to be “deep-state” attempts to undermine his presidency.