Overview
- The administration-backed Rededicate 250 festival ran for nine hours on the National Mall on Sunday, presenting the event as a national re-dedication to God.
- Reporters on site described several thousand people gathered near the White House for prayers, sermons, and patriotic worship.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson took the stage, while President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed attendees by pre-recorded video.
- Organizers chose May 17 to echo a 1776 congressional call for a day of fasting and prayer tied to the Revolutionary cause.
- Scholars and civil-liberties critics called the event a push for Christian nationalism, disputing claims the nation was founded as a Christian state and noting the overwhelmingly Christian lineup and controversial speakers.