The U.S. government was founded to serve the American people, not to proselytize them, said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
But U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins have used their offices to proselytize throughout their tenures and more recently in high-profile settings, Laser said in a press statement.
Rachel Laser
She cited two recent instances of Hegseth and Rollins exploiting their positions to promote Christianity.
During a recent visit to Texas A&M University in College Station, Hegseth invoked a line from the biblical book of Isaiah to kick off his “Send Me” military recruitment tour: “‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I, send me.’”
The reference is in line with Hegseth’s persistent claims that America is a Christian nation and that President Donald Trump’s war with Iran is a crusade against Muslim aggression, Laser said.
Earlier this year, Hegseth invoked a verse from the Psalms about pursuing enemies, adding “let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation.”
Hegseth has infamously launched prayer services at the Pentagon in 2025, featuring appearances by his own pastor.
His comments in Texas were directed at military cadets at the university and during a gathering in which he swore in military inductees. Hegseth also used the occasion to blast diversity initiatives and transgender people.
“The armed forces of the United States will be governed strictly by merit, competence and combat readiness,” he said. “We have abolished diversity, equity and inclusion offices, DEI. There’s no quotas across our department anymore. No more social experiments, just training.”
And “no more trannies, just training,” he added. “We are done with that garbage because the combat zone does not care about your pronouns or your identity politics.”
“Trannies” is considered a pejorative and demeaning word often used in commercialized and demeaning sexual contexts.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins testifies during House Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the budget for the Department of Agriculture in Rayburn building on Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rollins also has a track record for conflating public office with religion, most recently telling the Trinity Broadcasting Network her purpose as secretary includes saving souls: “I do use this platform. I believe in making disciples of all the nations. I believe that God has blessed this country and so ensuring that we are using this and bringing the light to a very dark world.”
Americans United, Democracy Forward and Bryan Schwartz Law filed a lawsuit in May in an effort to stop Rollins from using USDA email to proselytize employees. Plaintiffs in the case are six workers and a union that represents 110,000 agency employees.
In March, Americans United filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Defense over Hegseth’s predominantly Christian prayer services at the Pentagon.
“Secretaries Hegseth and Rollins are continuing to abuse the power of their public offices to impose their beliefs on others,” Laser said. “Across the federal government, the Trump administration is misusing taxpayer resources to preach, hold government-sponsored prayer services during work time, and broadcast Christian nationalism over official communications channels.”