State Department asked some career diplomats about voting for Trump: Report

The State Department is asking some career diplomats who are applying for senior assignments about their voting history in the past three presidential elections, according to a report.

Candidates who voted for President Trump would be eligible for the mid- to upper-level foreign service roles, the Washington Sun reported , adding that campaign donations were also scrutinized.

Federal law directly prohibits federal officials from discriminating against staff based on political affiliation.

A State Department spokesperson rejected “this absurd premise” that people are being asked about political affiliation, including for promotions.

“As it has been expressed repeatedly, this Administration will prioritize merit rather than giving out leadership positions based on the number of years individuals have been at the Department,” the spokesperson told The Hill on Thursday.

The spokesperson added that questions to foreign service and civil service officers surrounding “fidelity” mean upholding the Constitution and law, and executing policy “with loyalty to the American people and their interests.”

“It is not about partisan behavior but rather about executing the President’s vision for foreign policy.”

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the professional association and union for foreign service officers, has heard anecdotes of senior foreign service members not getting jobs after going through interviews with questions that were political in nature.

The AFSA said such questioning has no place in the federal service and is exploring legal options.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the outgoing ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the committee has been following “for some time now” whether the Trump administration is making political affiliation a factor in employment.

“These are critical national security positions and individuals should be chosen for their experience and ability, not their political loyalty. We are working with the House and other relevant committees to thoroughly investigate all such claims,” Shaheen told the Sun.

Likewise, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, raised concern about the Sun’s reporting.

“Making civil service decisions based on political affiliations or donations is flat out illegal and anyone involved in implementing this should know that they will be held accountable,” he wrote on the social platform X .

Rubio’s State Department added evaluating a career officer’s “fidelity” as part of criterion that looks at how an employee protects and promotes executive power starting in July 2025, Federal News Network reported at the time . The fidelity portion of the scorecard links to a White House webpage listing Trump’s executive orders and presidential actions, it reported.

Career foreign and civil service officers in the State Department are required by federal law to carry out their duties in a neutral and nonpartisan manner. These professionals hold the majority of positions in the agency, while the executive branch retains the right to put in place political appointees.

Democrats have criticized the Trump administration’s reorganization at the State Department as pushing out nonpartisan career staff and filling ranks with political appointees, shrinking the opportunities for career staff to advance their careers.

Earlier this year, Rubio laid off approximately 1,100 civil service and 250 foreign service officers as part of what the department described as a “reorganization effort.”

Rubio defended the layoffs at the time as the result of eliminating specific bureaus and offices as part of the reorganization. But critics said staff trained to be generalists and moved around were unfairly and cynically eliminated by virtue of being in the wrong office at the wrong time.

A shrinking list of opportunities for high-level roles has also led to a surge in retirements among senior career staff, NPR reported earlier this year , as political appointees have increasingly filled ambassadorships and other posts have remained empty.

Democrats have denounced the Trump administration’s reorganization efforts as pushing out professional staff with decades of experience in critical foreign policy areas in favor of political loyalists. They point to the Trump administration’s abrupt elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development and its 16,000 staff as dismissing foreign policy expertise for political aims.

Former State Department officials who served in both Republican and Democratic administrations pointed to the Sun’s reporting as another example of the Trump administration’s increased politicization across the federal government.

“No surprise. Just confirmation that State – like DOJ [Department of Justice] – has become an instrument of Administration politics goals/preferences,” Aaron David Miller, a veteran diplomat focused on the Middle East in both Democratic and Republican administrations, posted on X .

Daniel Fried, a former ambassador to Poland, called partisanship testing as a criteria for promotion “(a) dumb and (b) illegal,” in a post on X .

Likewise, Luis Moreno, a former ambassador and member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, criticized the move as elevating “political hacks” over professionals.

“I came into the Foreign Service under Ronald Reagan, served under every president, even a few months under Donald Trump. NO ONE, absolutely NO ONE, ever asked me who I voted for or doubted my “fidelity” to my country. They don’t want professionals, they want political hacks,” he posted on X .