Several agencies and Trump administration officials acknowledged the birth of Jesus Christ in several Christmas messages, which received criticism from people advocating for the separation of church and state.
Agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and officials like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard shared Bible verses and acknowledged that, as people celebrated Christmas, they were celebrating “the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
“Rejoice America, Christ is born!” DHS wrote in a post on X, which also included a video with the song, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”
“Merry Christmas to all,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X. “Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May His light bring peace, hope, and joy to you and our families.”
“Merry Christmas and aloha from our family to yours,” Gabbard wrote in a post on X. “May we spend this day and every day remembering Jesus Christ and following his message to us all: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like unto it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39).”
“The joyous message of Christmas is the hope of Eternal Life through Christ,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a post on X. “Wishing everyone a blessed holiday season filled with hope and peace.”
The Washington Post reported that the messages “sharply diverged from the more secular, Santa Claus-and-reindeer style of Christmas messages that have been the norm for government agencies for years.”
People such as Rachel Laser, who serves as the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, also stated that the U.S. Constitution’s “promise of church-state separation has allowed religious diversity — including different denominations of Christianity — to flourish in America”:
The messages sharply diverged from the more secular, Santa Claus-and-reindeer style of Christmas messages that have been the norm for government agencies for years. The posts provided the latest example of the administration’s efforts to promote the cultural views and languages of Trump’s evangelical Christian base.
That drew criticism from advocates of a strict separation of church and state.
Those social media posts are “one more example of the Christian Nationalist rhetoric the Trump administration has disseminated since Day One in office,” Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a statement. “Our Constitution’s promise of church-state separation has allowed religious diversity — including different denominations of Christianity — to flourish in America.”
While several people took to social media to claim DHS’s Christmas post was “unconstitutional” and an “inappropriate use of official government channels,” others said this is what they had voted for.
“Pretty sure this post is unconstitutional,” one person said.
“Inappropriate use of official government channels,” one person wrote.
“Praise God!” one person wrote. “I vote for my government to promote the true religion.”
“I voted for this,” Benny Johnson, the host of The Benny Show, wrote in a post.
