Donald Trump’s incoming administration has begun questioning career civil servants about their loyalty, asking them who they voted for in the 2024 election.
The president-elect is infamous for demanding loyalty to him, which has sometimes left him open to criticism about putting himself before the country’s interests. In recent days, his team have also been aggressively grilling staff about any political contributions and whether they have made any critical social media posts about the incoming commander-in-chief.
According to a US official, some civil servants who have dedicated their careers to serving America have already begun clearing their desks. The staff, who are in non-political roles, had previously been given indications that they would be asked to stay on at the National Security Council (NSC) in the new administration.
In recent days, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Florida Representative Mike Waltz, has publicly signalled his intention to eliminate all non-political appointees and career intelligence officials by following Monday’s Inauguration.
Last week, he said, “Everybody is going to resign at 12:01 on January 20.” Waltz added that he wanted the NSC staffed by personnel who are “100 per cent aligned with the president’s agenda.”
“We’re working through our process to get everybody their clearances and through the transition process now,” Waltz said. “Our folks know who we want out in the agencies, we’re putting those requests in, and in terms of the detailees they’re all going to go back.” Insiders say the move is to ensure the council is staffed with those who support the incoming president’s agenda.
However, experts point out that a wholesale removal of foreign policy and national security experts from the NSC on day one of the new administration could deprive America of considerable expertise and knowledge as the US grapples with complex policy challenges in Ukraine, the Middle East, and beyond.
Such questioning could also make new policy experts brought into the NSC less likely to speak up about policy differences and concerns. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan is making a robust case for the incoming Trump administration to hold onto career government employees at least through the early going of the new administration.
“Given everything going on in the world, making sure you have in place a team that is up to speed and, you know, ready to continue serving at 12:01, 12:02, 12:03 p.m. on the 20th is really important,” Sullivan said.
The NSC staff members being questioned about their loyalty are primarily subject matter experts who have been loaned to the White House by federal agencies – the State Department, FBI and CIA, for example – for temporary duty that typically lasts one to two years.
They would be returned to their home agencies if removed from the NSC. The official said the civil servants’ vetting began last week. Some of them have been questioned about their politics by Trump appointees who will serve as directors on the NSC and who had weeks earlier asked them to stay.
Dozens of civil servants at the directorate level at the NSC had anticipated remaining at the White House in the new administration.
A second US official said he was informed weeks ago by incoming Trump administration officials that they planned on asking career appointees at the White House, including those at the NSC, about their political leanings.
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