A job fair is seen as an unusual step for a White House to take. | Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images
Trump White House recruits at a Hill job fair amid staff exodus
'Interested in a job at the White House?' reads the flyer for an event aimed at conservatives.
The White House – which has been having trouble filling positions as it bleeds staffers – is now trying to find recruits at a conservative job fair on the Hill.
“Interested in a job at the White House?” is the subject line of an email that was blasted out widely to Republicans on the Hill late Wednesday advertising the upcoming event.
It promises that “representatives from across the Trump administration will be there to meet job seekers of every experience level.” A person familiar with the planning said that Johnny DeStefano, who oversees the White House personnel department, and Sean Doocey, a deputy assistant to the president for presidential personnel, are expected to be on hand, among other officials from the West Wing.
The flyer lists positions open in the White House as well as a handful of government agencies including Defense, Interior, Commerce, Homeland Security, Health & Human Services, NASA, Energy, and Treasury.
The “Executive Branch Job Fair” is scheduled for Friday afternoon in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, according to a flyer attached to the email.
“There are positions currently open and we are looking for the most competent conservatives to recommend,” the flyer, shared with POLITICO, reads.
The fair is being hosted by the Conservative Partnership Institute, an organization founded by former Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint last year.
“CPI’s mission is to support conservatives in Washington and we are excited about giving hundreds of qualified, experienced conservatives an opportunity to meet with Trump administration officials and learn about career opportunities,” Rachel Bovard, senior policy director at Conservative Partnership said in an email.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Recriting at a job fair is seen as an unusual step for a White House to take. Typically jobs in the executive branch are coveted career-making opportunities.
A former Obama administration official said it would have been unheard of in the previous administration, and that West Wing jobs were rarely even listed on UsaJobs.Gov, the official job search site for the federal government. But the executive branch of the Obama administration did sometimes host events on campuses of historically black colleges and universities to meet potential candidates from underrepresented groups, the former official added.
The Trump White House, however, has had difficulty bringing new people in as staffers have resigned amid ongoing chaos and a crackdown on security clearances – or, more recently, been fired as part of a purge of people accused of leaking information to reporters.
The departures have hollowed out the ranks of lower-level staffers, with dozens departing from various policy offices as well as the press and communications shops.
Perhaps most prominently, the position of communications director has sat vacant since Hope Hicks departed in March – but that post is not expected to be filled at the Friday job fair.
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