The defense secretary led a gathering that “appeared to be a first for a Pentagon chief.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led a Christian service at the Pentagon on Wednesday ― an event one former Defense Department lawyer called “incredibly problematic.”
Hegseth’s prayer meeting in the auditorium during work hours “appeared to be a first for a Pentagon chief,” Reuters wrote.
“This is precisely where I need to be, and I think exactly where we need to be as a nation, at this moment,” Hegseth said, per The New York Times. “In prayer, on bended knee recognizing the providence of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.”
Hegseth said the meeting was voluntary and could become a monthly event, The Times noted. But critics questioned the legality of it.
A brochure titled “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer & Worship Service” featured the seal of the Department of Defense, suggesting that Hegseth and the government sponsored it, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, now a law professor, told CNN. That could be a breach of the First Amendment’s ban on the government promoting a religion.
Advertisement
“I think it’s sponsorship in the true sense of the word, outside of funding — he’s advocating for this, he is putting his weight of the official Office of the Secretary of Defense behind a particular religious event and inviting someone to the Pentagon to conduct it,” she said, noting the appearance by Brooks Potteiger, the pastor of Hegseth’s church in Tennessee. “That’s wrong.”
A former Pentagon lawyer who left the job last month told CNN the gathering was “incredibly problematic.”
Noting the First Amendment’s establishment cause barring government from endorsing a religion, the attorney said, “Having a broadcast event is obviously an endorsement even if they don’t officially say, ‘this is a Pentagon event.’”
Advertisement
The service appears to be bolstering the Trump administration’s efforts to connect government with evangelical Christianity.
The president got a shoutout from the pastor.
“We pray for our leaders who you have sovereignly appointed — for President Trump, thank you for the way that you have used him to bring stability and moral clarity to our land,” Potteiger said, per the Times. “And we pray that you would continue to protect him, bless him, give him great wisdom.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s prayer service got pushback from some legal experts.
JIM WATSON via Getty Images
News
You Picked the Wrong Woman” — Karoline Leavitt Silences a Cocky Ex-NFL Star Live on Air, and the Internet Can’t Get Enough
The moment was electric — the kind of live TV where you just know something unforgettable is about to happen….
‘It was absolutely te:rrif:ying” – Southwest passenger describes h0rr0r of plummeting mid-air as screams filled the cabin when pilot avoided cr:ash
A Southwest passenger aboard a flight that was forced to make an evasive maneuver to avoid a mid-air collision said screams…
What’s Next for Late-Night? Expert Breaks Silence After Shocking Cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
After the CBS network cancelled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert after three decades, one media expert has weighed in…
“I Know His True Face” – Ozzy Osbourne’s first wife decides to erase the rock star from her life as she reveals ha:unting secrets from their “HE:LLI:SH” past together
As the patriarch of reality TV show The Osbournes – presiding in potty-mouthed dysfunction over the family antics – he won a…
“I’LL NEVER FORGET THAT NIGHT” – Sharon Osbourne speaks through heartbreak as she recalls the moment Ozzy Osbourne brought another woman back to the h0tel — forgetting his own wife was already there
Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, Sharon Osbourne, once fondly recalled what happened when the Black Sabbath frontman picked up a…
Cameras Off, True Colors Revealed – What Stephen Mulhern Did Backstage at You Bet! Will Leave You Sh0cked
Another brand-new series of You Bet! is set to air on ITV with host Stephen Mulhern at the helm. And now, someone who managed…
End of content
No more pages to load
