U.S. President Donald Trump and Pastor Paula White attend the annual National Prayer Breakfast at Hilton hotel in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Speaking to several federal workers, Wired revealed that the Department of Agriculture, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services have all ramped up references to religion.
According to one person at the Department of Labor, the new focus on religion left a bad taste. “The vibes are bad, and people don’t like it."
“They always spend a lot of time carrying on like, ‘No one's forcing you to pray, these are voluntary,’” the employee told Wired. “But it's happening in the middle of a government workplace.”
They were particularly concerned about Alveda King, niece of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. She manages faith and community outreach at the USDA.
In January, King made comments about atheists and nonreligious people, saying they were going to Hell.
“We have different denominations, different faiths, and some have no faith — and those are the ones I would be more concerned about. If someone is totally without hope, can’t believe in anything, think the world is just falling apart, then that’s when we want justice to stand. And you bring justice every day you come to work," King told staff.
An employee told Wired, “People are uncomfortable. I know several who are offended and angry. These [worship services] are very Christian in nature.”
“I've thought about complaining, but I would worry about some form of retaliation if I were to do that, to be honest,” an employee at the Department of Labor said.
The Small Business Administration launched a Fellowship Prayer Service in March, something that staff there found "weird" and "uncomfortable."
“Honestly, I don’t know anyone who actually went to them because they are optional but it’s still uncomfortable to know that there’s a Christian prayer service happening in a government building, which is supposed to be religiously neutral," said the SBA employee.
A spokesperson for the DOL made it clear that the events are voluntary and that the service was nondenominational.
However, it has been clear to non-Protestant Christians that they aren't part of the services. On Good Friday, the Pentagon sent an email about a service and specifically called out Catholics, saying there would be no Mass. Catholics don't typically have a Mass on Good Friday.
“I guess so the Catholics know their kind ain’t welcome,” an employee, who requested anonymity, told the Huffington Post. “It’s so ridiculous.”
The Pentagon confirmed to HuffPo that there was no additional service for Catholics.
“The Protestant service is the only service scheduled in the Pentagon chapel today,” they said in a statement.
The report noted that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, "a far-right evangelical Christian, has tried to infuse his religious views into Pentagon activities."
He has openly hailed President Donald Trump as divinely appointed. The report came a week before Trump posted an AI image depicting himself as Jesus Christ. Trump claimed he thought it was a "doctor."
Even Trump's own allies questioned the move, with one far-right pastor questioning if Trump was the anti-Christ.
Meanwhile, Trump has been in his own war of words with Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope. It has played into anti-Catholic sentiment, one historian explained.
Wired cited recent data from 2025 showing that only 22.5 percent of federal workers feel safe reporting wrongdoing without fear of retaliation from superiors. In 2024, that number was 71.9 percent.
“This has never happened before,” said a USDA employee, who, like others who spoke to Wired was too fearful to have their name disclosed publicly. The Ag. Department got an email from Secretary Brooke Rollins celebrating Jesus as "the greatest story ever told."
"I have never gotten a message like this from anyone," the employee said, noting that even military chaplains don't operate like this and it's part of their job.