diff --git a/ng-dev/pr/common/validation/validations.ts b/ng-dev/pr/common/validation/validations.ts
index bfe280712..fdae26c34 100644
--- a/ng-dev/pr/common/validation/validations.ts
+++ b/ng-dev/pr/common/validation/validations.ts
@@ -134,6 +134,20 @@ export function assertMergeReady(pullRequest: PullRequestFromGithub, config: Pul
   throw PullRequestFailure.notMergeReady();
 }
 
+/**
+ * Assert the pull request has been marked ready for merge by the author.
+ * @throws {PullRequestFailure} if the pull request is missing the merge ready label.
+ */
+export function assertPassingCi(pullRequest: PullRequestFromGithub) {
+  const {combinedStatus} = getStatusesForPullRequest(pullRequest);
+  if (combinedStatus === PullRequestStatus.PENDING) {
+    throw PullRequestFailure.pendingCiJobs();
+  }
+  if (combinedStatus === PullRequestStatus.FAILING) {
+    throw PullRequestFailure.failingCiJobs();
+  }
+}
+
 // TODO: Remove need to export this pattern matching utility.
 /** Checks whether the specified value matches the given pattern. */
 export function matchesPattern(value: string, pattern: RegExp | string): boolean {
diff --git a/ng-dev/pr/merge/pull-request.ts b/ng-dev/pr/merge/pull-request.ts
index 938e0991d..217cf0b23 100644
--- a/ng-dev/pr/merge/pull-request.ts
+++ b/ng-dev/pr/merge/pull-request.ts
@@ -16,12 +16,9 @@ import {
   matchesPattern,
   assertPendingState,
   assertSignedCla,
+  assertPassingCi,
 } from '../common/validation/validations';
-import {
-  fetchPullRequestFromGithub,
-  getStatusesForPullRequest,
-  PullRequestStatus,
-} from '../common/fetch-pull-request';
+import {fetchPullRequestFromGithub} from '../common/fetch-pull-request';
 
 /** Interface that describes a pull request. */
 export interface PullRequest {
@@ -81,6 +78,10 @@ export async function loadAndValidatePullRequest(
     assertSignedCla(prData);
     assertPendingState(prData);
     assertCorrectBreakingChangeLabeling(commitsInPr, labels);
+
+    if (!ignoreNonFatalFailures) {
+      assertPassingCi(prData);
+    }
   } catch (error) {
     // If the error is a pull request failure, we pass it through gracefully
     // as the tool expects such failures to be returned from the function.
@@ -90,15 +91,6 @@ export async function loadAndValidatePullRequest(
     throw error;
   }
 
-  /** The combined status of the latest commit in the pull request. */
-  const {combinedStatus} = getStatusesForPullRequest(prData);
-  if (combinedStatus === PullRequestStatus.FAILING && !ignoreNonFatalFailures) {
-    return PullRequestFailure.failingCiJobs();
-  }
-  if (combinedStatus === PullRequestStatus.PENDING && !ignoreNonFatalFailures) {
-    return PullRequestFailure.pendingCiJobs();
-  }
-
   const requiredBaseSha =
     config.pullRequest.requiredBaseCommits &&
     config.pullRequest.requiredBaseCommits[githubTargetBranch];