Pete Hegseth leads prayer to ‘King Jesus’ during Pentagon event

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth led a prayer during a voluntary event at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday that addressed Jesus as king and invoked His wisdom for guidance, prompting critics to accuse him of violating the U.S. Constitution.

“King Jesus, we come humbly before you, seeking your face, seeking your grace, in humble obedience to your law and to your word,” Hegseth prayed. “We come as sinners saved only by that grace, seeking your providence in our lives and in our nation.”

“Lord God, we ask for the wisdom to see what is right and in each and every day, in each and every circumstance, the courage to do what is right in obedience to your will. It is in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that we pray. And all God’s people say amen,” Hegseth added, to which some in the audience replied, “Amen.”

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Pete Hegseth leading a prayer to ‘King Jesus’ in the Pentagon is ???????????? pic.twitter.com/CmoFm2Won3

— Protestia (@Protestia) May 22, 2025

Hegseth noted that the voluntary 30-minute prayer event, which was called the “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer & Worship Service,” might become a monthly occurrence, according to The New York Times.

Hegseth appeared to mock The New York Times for its story on the service, noting how the left-leaning outlet was effectively forced to print a prayer to Jesus in its entirety. The New York Times has been critical of Hegseth, publishing stories implying he wants to start a new Crusade while highlighting his Latin “Deus Vult” tattoo, which drew scrutiny as the rallying cry of the First Crusade in 1095.

In January, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a 33-page letter to Hegseth complaining about his tattoo, which she claimed indicated he is an “insider threat.”

When the @nytimes is forced to print an entire prayer… https://t.co/qyxoNkjHobpic.twitter.com/KsNMk8LCxa

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) May 21, 2025

Hegseth’s prayer this week has prompted pushback from some critics who claim it was a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, a former Pentagon lawyer and now a law professor at Southwestern Law School, called the service “incredibly problematic,” according to CNN.

VanLandingham said the “core of the Establishment Clause is the state not endorsing a particular religion, but having a broadcast event is obviously an endorsement even if they don’t officially say, ‘this is a Pentagon event.’”

“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 added. “That’s wrong.”

Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder Mikey Weinstein, whose nonprofit has endeavored to remove overtly religious symbols from the military for 20 years, invoked the Holocaust to criticize the prayer service, according to a Wednesday video he posted to his website.

“I’ve been asked by the media what I think this means and what the impact is, and my response is simple: it’s a holocaust, and I speak to you as somebody who suffered the fact that members of my family were actually slaughtered in the Nazi Holocaust,” he said. “It’s beyond description. It rips us under our Constitution [sic], and it’s something we can’t let happen.”

Erin Smith, who serves as associate counsel at First Liberty Institute, expressed support for Hegseth in a statement provided to The Christian Post.

Smith likened Hegseth’s religious exercise to that of the 26 U.S. Navy SEALs who sued the U.S. Department of Defense after being relieved of duty for refusing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds after being denied a religious exemption.

“Secretary Hegseth’s exercise of his religious faith is protected just like it was for the Navy SEALs we represented against the prior administration when it tried to kick them out for their faith objection to Covid requirements,” Smith said. “We commend Secretary Hegseth for standing up for the Constitution and against censorship.”

Phil Mendes, one of the SEALs in the lawsuit, featured as a witness during Attorney General Pam Bondi’s first meeting of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias in the Federal Government last month.

Also speaking at the Pentagon event with Hegseth was Brooks Potteiger, pastor of Hegseth’s home church Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, which was established 2021 in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, near Nashville.

Potteiger delivered a prayer that claimed President Donald Trump and other leaders were appointed to their offices according to God’s sovereignty, and asked God to provide the president with wisdom and protection.

“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. And we pray that you would continue to protect him, bless him, give him great wisdom,” he said. “We pray that you would surround him with faithful counselors who fear your name and love your precepts.”

Potteiger’s church is a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), which was cofounded by Douglas Wilson in 1998 and formerly called the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches until its name was changed in 2011 to avoid association with the Confederacy.