SWAMP KING —Trump just mandated loyalty tests for federal employees to keep their jobs!

In a move straight out of a banana republic, the Trump administration has just turned federal performance reviews into a loyalty oath — not to the government, not to the Constitution, but to HIM!

According to a bombshell HuffPost report, tens of thousands of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees will now be judged on whether they “clearly and demonstrably support implementation” of Donald Trump’s policies.

Yes, it’s come to this. Career public servants — scientists, doctors, analysts, and inspectors general — are now being told that their jobs depend not on doing good work for the American people, but on pledging allegiance to Trump’s agenda.

This is not parody. It’s policy.

The new HHS directive literally lists “Faithful Support of the President’s Policies” as the most critical element of an employee’s annual review. Workers are being told they must “advance the President’s specific policy agenda” — or risk being fired.

Given that Health and Human Services Secretary and DOGE have already decimated the ranks of the department, the agency can’t really afford to lose more personnel. And with so many workers idled by the government shutdown, job insecurity among federal workers is already at an all-time high.

One HHS employee told HuffPost: “So basically, we swear we’re going to follow Trump’s policies, which is ridiculous.”

Ridiculous — and dangerous.

Federal workers are supposed to serve the law and the Constitution, not the whims of one man. But Trump has been on a mission to gut the civil service and replace it with loyalists since day one. This is the latest step in his authoritarian march to turn government agencies into personal fiefdoms.

It’s also pure hypocrisy: Trump screams about the “deep state,” but what he’s really building is a “Trump state” — where facts, science, and ethics take a back seat to loyalty tests.

Stanford professor Terry Moe nailed it: “They want to ensure that civil servants, who are supposed to be nonpartisan, are themselves loyalists. This flies in the face of the entire foundation of civil service.”

That foundation — merit, independence, and integrity — is what separates a democracy from a dictatorship. And it’s collapsing under Trump’s boot.

Employees are terrified. Morale is tanking. Even workers in the Office of Inspector General, whose job is to investigate waste and fraud, are now being told to “support the President’s policies.” Translation: don’t uncover anything that makes him look bad.

Trump’s people call it “Restoring Accountability.” Let’s call it what it really is: Restoring Obedience.

The bottom line is that Trump isn’t draining the swamp — he’s drowning the government in his own ego. This is how democracies die — one loyalty oath at a time.

Please like and share if you agree: Federal employees serve America, not Donald Trump.