Overview
- At a Pentagon press conference, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Americans to pray for service members "on bended knee" and "in the name of Jesus Christ."
- CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan posted on X noting the call to pray and to invoke Jesus' name, which drew immediate reaction online.
- Conservative figures, including the White House rapid response account, criticized Brennan’s post and defended Hegseth’s remarks.
- Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson publicly supported the request for prayers, citing George Washington praying for troops at Valley Forge as precedent.
- Fox News reported the remarks followed a somber update on Operation Epic Fury and recent deaths of six service members in a plane crash, and CBS did not immediately comment.