A secular advocacy organization has filed lawsuits against two federal agencies, challenging the handling of records related to monthly Christian prayer gatherings promoted by officials in the Trump administration.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced legal action against the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Labor, alleging that the agencies have illegally withheld public records related to monthly Christian prayer services hosted by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
“The federal government’s role is to serve the public, not to proselytize,” said Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser in a statement addressing the lawsuits filed Tuesday.
“Secretaries Hegseth and Chavez-DeRemer are abusing the power of their government positions and taxpayer-funded resources to impose their preferred religion on federal workers,” she argued.
The organization contends that the prayer services violate principles of religious freedom and has accused the administration of spreading "disinformation" about "religious expression in the federal workplace."
“Even if these prayer services are presented as voluntary, there is pressure on federal employees to attend in order to appease their bosses," she added, arguing that the pressure is especially relevant since the services occur amidst what she deemed the Trump administration’s "campaign to punish anyone who doesn’t comply with its Christian Nationalist agenda.”
According to Americans United, Hegseth introduced the “Secretary’s Christian Prayer & Worship Service” during a workday at the The Pentagon in May 2025, and the gatherings have continued on a monthly basis since then.
The prayer meetings are generally open to all Department of Defense personnel. Hegseth, who attends a congregation affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, has expressed his view that the country should be “in prayer, on bended knee recognizing the providence of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Chavez-DeRemer later launched a similar initiative within the Labor Department after being inspired by Hegseth’s efforts, with her department’s prayer services beginning in December 2025. Identifying as Catholic, she has said the nation “will probably need a little more prayer.”
