When people apply for a job, they often expect predictable questions about their work history, relevant skills and educational backgrounds. When it comes to those seeking positions in Donald Trump’s incoming administration, the lines of inquiry are reportedly quite… different.
The New York Times, for example, has reportedly spoken to several people involved in the hiring process for high-level positions within the Pentagon and the intelligence community. They faced questions about their political loyalty.
The questions went beyond simply affirming loyalty to the new government. The interviewers asked which candidate the candidates had supported in the three most recent elections, what they thought of the events of January 6, 2021, and whether they thought the 2020 election was stolen. The feeling they got was that there was only one right answer to every question.
The Times’ report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that those who decried the Jan. 6 violence or acknowledged the reality of the 2020 presidential election found their interview responses “were met with silence and of notes.”
The applicants, the article continued, “didn’t get the jobs.”
While it’s probably not surprising to see this kind of reporting, it’s worth emphasizing that, if the Times’ report is accurate, these questions aren’t just about measuring loyalty to Trump, his agenda and/or his vision. If the questions previously focused on January 6 and Republicans’ election conspiracy theories, it sounds like applicants were also tested on their loyalty to Trump’s lies.
To make matters worse, the Times published a separate report on Silicon Valley billionaires who have followed the president-elect’s transition process “completely,” “shaping hiring decisions and even interviewing for high-level jobs.”
Their involvement, to some extent much deeper than previously reported, has made this one of the most potentially conflict-ridden presidential transitions in modern history. It also has huge implications for the Trump administration’s policies on issues including taxation and the regulation of artificial intelligence, not to mention the fact that it clashes sharply with the idea that Trump’s populism is all about helping working people.
The report, which has also not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, made for disturbing reading. For example, one of Elon Musk’s friends reportedly interviewed candidates for a job at the State Department despite having “no foreign affairs experience.” Another friend of Musk’s reportedly interviewed people seeking positions in the Pentagon. Another friend of Musk’s also reportedly “conducted staff interviews.”
Remarkably, the Times added that Musk’s mother was “involved in the transition,” and recently said during a radio interview, “I enjoy being in meetings” related to the Department of Government Ethics (DOGE) from her son.
For those already concerned about the kind of team the president-elect is putting together, this kind of reporting makes matters significantly worse.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
