An internal email sent from Liberty University Law School to its first- and second-year students reveals the Trump administration's prioritization of loyalty over qualifications.
The evangelical university's law school emailed students Friday afternoon publicizing “exciting opportunity to intern with the Department of Labor in DC" that promised "incredible connections that will payoff [sic] later" and the possibility of full-time job offers after graduation, reported journalist Judd Legum in his Popular Info newsletter.
"The two most important requirements are you MUST be aligned politically with President Trump and his administration and you must be willing to work hard," read the email sent by Derek Green, an associate director at the law school. "Don't be scared off by the transcript requirement. GPA is not a strong factor. If you meet those two requirements, you have a shot."
Legum obtained the email from a university source who requested anonymity, and Green declined to comment on the message without approval from Edie Swann, the law school’s director of public affairs, but she did not respond to a request for an interview.
Green's email encouraged students to apply because “the person conducting the interviews is Vittoria D’Addesi, a 2025 graduate of Liberty Law, along with a representative of the White House Liaison Office," and he tipped off potential applicants that they would be screened on several political questions.
"Did you vote for President Trump?” Green wrote, as one example, and provided another. “Do you disagree with the President on anything?”
Green told students he hoped to have "double digit Liberty Law students" enrolled in the program this summer.
The email included a message from DAddesi, who said applicants must be wiling to advance the president's initiatives and deliver "wins for the American Worker," and she described the position as "a political position in which interns will serve the Trump Administration for the duration of their internships."
"This suggests the DOL is treating these internships as 'Schedule C' positions, which are defined as 'confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating,'" Legum wrote. "The Supreme Court, in Elrod v. Burns and subsequent decisions, ruled that only these policy positions can be conditioned on political beliefs."