In a reprise of a famous photo op from his first term in the White House, Donald Trump welcomed 17 evangelical pastors to the Oval Office March 19 to pray over him.
The next day, a different group of religious leaders gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to protest on behalf of the growing number of federal workers who are being fired or forced out of government jobs by Trump and Elon Musk.
A photo of the prayer session splashed across social media March 20. Visible in the prayer group are televangelist Paula White, who leads Trump’s faith office; Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas; Jim Garlow, a former San Diego pastor; William Wolfe, head of the Center for Baptist Leadership; Gary Bauer, founder of Family Research Council; David Barton, the controversial historian who promotes the myth that America was founded as a “Christian nation”; Jenny Korn, also a leader in the White House faith office; Travis Johnson, pastor of Pathway Church in Mobile, Ala.; Owen Strachan, senior director of the Dobson Culture Center; Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Brad Knight, pastor of StoryLife Church in Apopka, Fla.; Jeff Schwarzentraub, pastor of BRAVE Church in Englewood, Colo.
Bauer, a close ally of James Dobson and Focus on the Family, posted a report of the day on the American Values blog.
“It’s Day 60 of President Trump’s second term. No one has lost their Social Security, Medicare, or veterans’ benefits in spite of constant media and leftist lies,” he began.
“No one has lost their Social Security, Medicare, or veterans’ benefits in spite of constant media and leftist lies.”
The group of evangelical clergy met with the White House Faith Office before the prayer time and “brought dozens of ideas the administration could pursue to promote faith, family and freedom,” Bauer said. “After several hours we were informed that, unexpectedly, the president wanted us to join him in the Oval Office.”
Upon arrival, “President Trump greeted us enthusiastically,” Bauer reported. “He beamed as we encouraged him to keep ‘fighting the good fight.’ Given the gravity of the many things on his agenda yesterday, I was amazed at the amount of time he spent with us. The conversation was fascinating. But, most importantly, the chance to pray with him and for him was a great blessing for all of us.”
William Wolfe, who served in the previous Trump administration and has ties to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, posted the group photo on X and said: “It was a huge honor to represent @BaptistLeaders and meet @realDonaldTrump today along with other Christian leaders and pray for him in the Oval Office. It’s been an incredible day.”
Robert Jeffress wrote on X: “Honored to lead a prayer today for our great president @realDonaldTrump!”
Far-right commentator Todd Starnes, who was not present at the prayer meeting, spoke about it on his podcast and social media and denounced anyone who didn’t like it.
“The ‘Christians’ complaining about Christians praying over President Trump in the Oval Office are not Christians,” he wrote.
Screencap from WTOP of faith leaders gathered outside the U.S. Capitol March 20 to protest Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s actions.
Not all Christian leaders do approve of Trump’s agenda, as evidenced by a different group that gathered the next day at the U.S. Capitol.
WTOP News reported the group was organized by the Coalition of Concerned Clergy and was made up of religious leaders from a wide range of faith-based organizations.
“Clergy members said they feel they have a moral obligation to speak out for the dignity of federal workers who are losing their jobs at unprecedented speed due to the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, a team tasked by President Donald Trump with slashing federal spending,” WTOP reported.
“The decisions to fire mothers and fathers without just cause is immoral.”
Josephine Mourning of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference declared at the gathering, “We come here today to stand against Elon Musk and DOGE and their inhumane treatment of our government workers.”
“We’re going to protest at every turn, at every executive order. … The church will be here,” said Keith Byrd, pastor of historic Zion Baptist Church in Northwest D.C., which has a congregation that includes a large number of federal workers. “And we will be holding this government, the elected officials and particularly this president, accountable.”
George Gilbert Jr. of the Center for Racial Equity and Justice organized the event at the Capitol.
“The decisions to fire mothers and fathers without just cause is immoral and shows no care for humanity and no relationship to our God,” he said.
Gilbert spoke directly to Trump, who was not present: “We say to you that whether it be the mass firings of federal government employees and contractors; whether it be the illegal actions of shutting down entire government agencies; whether it be the attempts to impeach judges who have not cowered down to your bullying and attacks; God is not pleased.”