White House officials have said the interviews are a necessary exercise to determine who would be willing to serve in a second term if President Donald Trump is reelected. But officials called in for the interviews say the exercise is distracting from numerous political priorities, such as working to combat the pandemic, revitalizing the economy, or reviewing regulation, and instead reflect the White House’s belief that a “deep state “he is working to undermine the president.
It is “an exercise in discovering people who perceive themselves as not Trump enough,” said one person briefed on the meetings.
“If they are spending time trying to hunt down the leakers, it is time for them not to move forward on an agenda,” said a former senior administration official who spoke to officials subjected to the interviews. “And that is irresponsible.”
The interview process, along with the continued search for leaks by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, shows how the White House, less than four months before the presidential election, continues to be consumed by loyalty and optics despite urgent policy problems, such as a coronavirus pandemic. Nationwide, it worries about the reopening of schools and historically high unemployment. This week’s White House drama about Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease doctor, highlighted persistent internal concern over whether government officials are in line with Trump’s preferred policy approaches, such as the president’s wish. to minimize the latest waves of coronavirus.
Johnny McEntee, a 30-year-old who has been Trump’s assistant since the 2016 campaign and who was installed earlier this year as head of the White House personnel office, is responsible for occupying thousands or jobs throughout the federal government. agencies.
Interviews can take the form of general questions, such as a designated person’s career goals, but can also drift into territory intended to test a person’s perceived loyalty, such as asking about the designated person’s thoughts about US relationship with China or question why a nominee was chosen for their current job. Interviewers have also asked people to give examples of how they are supporting the administration.
“It looks like you could be a rocket scientist, but all they care about is whether you are MAGA,” said a senior administration official familiar with the interview process. “It’s fair to do something to prepare for a second term job, but right now, it’s hard to know what the metrics are with this staff office to be successful. There are no set criteria for what makes a good political appointment. “
McEntee, a former man in Trump’s body, did not respond to a request for comment. A White House official who defended the process said it is part of the personnel office’s preparations for a second term, including evaluating officials’ post-election plans.
The head of the presidential personnel office under President Barack Obama called the interviews unusual. “I could definitely see that those kinds of questions were uncomfortable and creating unease among the political appointees,” said Rudy Mehrbani, who also examined the appointees while in the White House attorney’s office under Obama. “If you are working in a subject area like Peace Corps or USAID, that does not mean that you are signing on to the administration’s position on reproductive rights financing.”
Political appointees in the Defense Department, including a higher layer of officials, deputy secretaries, are undergoing interviews with the White House personnel office this month, according to a current Defense official and two former officials. During the interviews, staff office representatives are forcing top leaders to answer questions about their loyalty to the president in order to keep their jobs in Trump’s second term, the people said.
In other areas of the government, personnel tests come at a time when Trump’s appointees are already struggling to manage portfolios that have been triggered during the pandemic. For example, HHS staff has spent more than five months juggling the uninterrupted response to the coronavirus while managing other ongoing policy goals, such as the president’s focus on securing lower drug prices before the election, an act of balance that officials described as exhausting even before facing de facto loyalty tests.
Five people named by the disparate acting policy across HHS said they had scheduled their meetings with the personnel office or were waiting for an appointment.
The interviews have also exposed some Trump-nominated people to unexpected risks: Labor Department officials were forced to quarantine after meeting with a White House staff member who later tested positive for the new coronavirus, first reported Bloomberg Law.
“You would think they would want to shore up the bank in response to the pandemic or start preparing to fill the expected gaps because people are getting sick or leaving,” Mehrbani added. “In the run-up to a transition, historically, there is a lot of turnover. Those are the things the personnel office should be attending to. ”
For true Trump believers, interviews are considered a mandatory part of the job in the Trump administration.
“If we are going to extend this amount of capital to you and lobby for you, they should ask more questions. I’m glad they’re finally doing it, “said a White House official.” The fact that PPO is finally considering whether people are aligned with the president, a long time ago. “
Lara Seligman contributed to this report.
