In a significant move to reform federal hiring practices, Senator Rick Scott (R-Iowa) led a bipartisan group—including Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)—in introducing the Restore Merit to Government Service Act of 2025.
The legislation aims to codify President Trump’s recent executive order by eliminating discriminatory hiring practices and ensuring that federal agencies hire only the most qualified candidates.
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“For years, Democrats have pushed radicalized policies into the innermost workings of our government, spending tax dollars against Americans’ own best interests. President Trump is right — in order to make the federal government work best for the American people, the federal workforce must hire based on merit above all else.” Senator Scott said. “Just like in any business and any job outside of the federal government, our federal agencies should be choosing the best-qualified candidate to show up and get to work for the American people. I encourage my colleagues to pass this good bill that codifies the President’s action so we can make Washington work better for American families.”
The bill seeks to achieve several key objectives:
- Restoring Merit-Based Hiring: The legislation prioritizes recruiting individuals who are dedicated to enhancing government efficiency, upholding the rule of law, and advancing the ideals of the nation.
- Eliminating DEI Hiring Mandates: It prohibits hiring practices that favor candidates based on race, sex, or religion, effectively removing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates from the federal hiring process.
- Updating Hiring Procedures: The act proposes streamlined processes, including a hiring timeline of no more than 80 days, improved communication with candidates, and integration of modern technology to facilitate recruitment and selection.
- Accountability Measures: The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would establish performance metrics to evaluate the success of these new procedures, ensuring that agency heads are active participants in reforming the hiring process.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn criticized existing policies, saying, “Diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates have done serious harm to our institutions, and hiring employees based on external attributes or pre-defined characteristics – not individual ability – is dangerous and wrong.” She added that the bill would help restore a focus on individual merit and work ethic.
“We must wash our hands of DEI. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris nearly destroyed the fabric of our country with this woke, racist ideology. We need to focus on hiring the best and brightest, not dividing people based on skin color,” Senator Tommy Tuberville argued. “Thank God President Trump is restoring merit-based hiring practices to our government, and prioritizing the recruitment of individuals who uphold the ideals of our nation. Now Congress must do our job to ensure that this poisonous ideology has no place in our government.”
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