Overview
- The defense secretary led a livestreamed Christian worship service at the Pentagon, which Wednesday marked the first monthly gathering since the Iran war began.
- He read a chaplain’s prayer he linked to the Maduro capture operation and asked God to let “every round find its mark” and to grant “overwhelming violence of action” against enemies while quoting imprecatory psalms.
- A day earlier, he announced chaplaincy changes that direct chaplains to display religious insignia and shrink recognized religious affiliation codes to 31, a shift that could affect smaller traditions as the updated list remains unpublished.
- Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a lawsuit Monday to force release of Pentagon records on the services, arguing that events led by top officials pressure federal workers despite being labeled voluntary, with a parallel suit targeting the Labor Department.
- Historians and watchdogs questioned his use of explicitly Christian language in official settings and noted his ties to the CREC network, while coverage ranged from straight accounts of the prayer text to critiques casting the rhetoric as Christian nationalist.