据报道，国务院正在询问一些申请高级职位的职业外交官过去三届总统大选中的投票记录。《华盛顿太阳报》报道称，投给特朗普总统票的候选人将有资格担任中高层外交官职务，并补充说竞选捐款也受到审查。联邦法律明确禁止联邦官员因政治派别歧视员工。国务院发言人驳斥了“个人被询问政治派别（包括晋升时）”这一“荒谬前提”。
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 discriminating against staff based on political affiliation. A State Department spokesperson rejected "this absurd premise" that individuals are being asked about political affiliation, including for promotions.
“正如多次表达的那样，本届政府将优先考虑任人唯贤，而不是根据个人在部门工作的年限授予领导职位，”发言人周四告诉《国会山报》。发言人补充说，向外交官和文职官员询问关于“忠诚度”的问题，是指维护宪法和法律，并“忠于美国人民及其利益”地执行政策。“这不是关于党派行为，而是关于执行总统的外交政策愿景。”
"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" means 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.”
参议院外交关系委员会即将卸任的首席议员珍妮·沙欣参议员（民主党-新罕布什尔州）表示，委员会“已经有一段时间”在关注特朗普政府是否将政治派别作为就业因素。“这些是关键的国家安全职位，人选应因其经验和能力而被选中，而非政治忠诚。我们正与众议院和其他相关委员会合作，彻底调查所有此类指控，”沙欣告诉《太阳报》。
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.
同样，众议院监督和政府改革委员会成员詹姆斯·沃金肖众议员（民主党-弗吉尼亚州）也对《太阳报》的报道表示关切。
Likewise, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, raised concern about the Sun’s reporting.
“基于政治隶属关系或捐赠来做出公务员任命的决定完全是违法的；任何参与此类行为的人都应该明白自己将会被追究责任，”他在社交媒体上写道。据联邦新闻网络（Federal News Network）报道，从2025年7月起，卢比奥领导的国务院开始将评估公务员的“政治忠诚度”作为评估其工作表现的标准之一；这一评估标准实际上涉及公务员在维护和执行行政权力方面的表现。
“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 X. Rubio’s State Department added evaluating a career officer's “fidelity” as part of criteria that looks at how an employee protects and promotes executive power starting in July 2025, Federal News Network reported at the time.
该报道还指出，这一评估体系与白宫的官方网站相关联，该网站列出了特朗普发布的行政命令和总统举措。根据联邦法律，国务院的公务员和外交官员必须以中立、无党派的态度履行职责。这些职业官员占据了该机构的大部分职位，但行政部门仍有权任命政治任命的官员。民主党人士批评特朗普政府对国务院的重组措施，认为此举排挤了那些无党派背景的职业官员，导致他们的职业发展机会受到限制。
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.
今年早些时候，卢比奥解雇了约1,100名公务员和250名外交官员，称这是重组的一部分。卢比奥为这些裁员行为辩护，称这是由于重组过程中某些部门被裁撤所致；但批评者认为，那些接受过通用技能培训、经常调岗的公务员仅仅因为身处错误的部门、在错误的时间被解雇，这种做法既不公平又具有讽刺意味。据NPR报道，由于越来越多的高级职位被政治任命的官员占据，职业官员退休的比例也在不断增加——因为许多高级职位一直空缺着。
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.
民主党人谴责特朗普政府的重组举措，指责其将在关键外交政策领域拥有数十年经验的专业人员排挤出去，转而青睐政治忠诚者。他们指出，特朗普政府突然撤销美国国际开发署（USAID）及其1.6万名员工，是为政治目的而摒弃外交政策专业知识。
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 (USAID) and its 16,000 staff as dismissing foreign policy expertise for political aims.
在共和党和民主党政府均任职过的前国务院官员指出，《太阳报》的报道是特朗普政府加剧联邦政府各部门政治化的又一例证。“不意外。只是再次证实国务院——就像司法部（DOJ）一样——已成为政府政治目标/偏好的工具，”在民主党和共和党政府均专注中东事务的资深外交官亚伦·大卫·米勒在X平台发帖表示。前驻波兰大使丹尼尔·弗里德在X平台发帖称，将党派忠诚度测试作为晋升标准“（a）愚蠢且（b）违法”。
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, 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.
同样，前大使、美国外交学院成员路易斯·莫雷诺批评此举是提拔“政治投机分子”而非专业人士。“我在罗纳德·里根执政时期进入外交服务体系，历任每一位总统手下，甚至在唐纳德·特朗普手下干了几个月。绝无一人、绝对无人曾问我投给谁，或怀疑我对国家的‘忠诚’。他们不想要专业人士，他们想要政治投机分子，”他在X平台发帖表示。
“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