The Job Application Question a Judge Halted in 2026 (Series 01 Episode 2 Short)

In May 2025 most federal job applications gained an essay question asking how the applicant would advance the President's policies. On September 11, 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts halted it, finding it likely violated job seekers' First Amendment rights. That question is not in chapter three of Project 2025, but it sits on the same old line between skill and loyalty. The cover photograph shows applicants at the Civil Service Commission in 1936, by Harris and Ewing, from the Library of Congress. The full story is Series 01, Episode 2 of What Comes Next.