Donald Trump’s administration kicked off the 250th anniversary of American independence with a federally funded prayer service in Washington that organizers framed as a national rededication to “One Nation Under God.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of S
Donald Trump’s MAGA-style push to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence got louder Sunday with a federally funded prayer service organizers said would “rededicate America as One Nation Under God.”
The event. titled “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer. Praise & Thanksgiving. ” was one stop in a wider series of administration activities scheduled around July 4.. While other planned anniversary highlights included a UFC fight at the White House planned for Trump’s 80th birthday and an IndyCar race around the National Mall in August. Sunday’s gathering leaned into a distinctly religious theme—evangelical supporters were explicitly courted. and speakers asserted that the United States is a Christian nation.
On the National Mall, performers took the stage under the shadow of the Washington Monument, welcoming Jesus into the event: “We welcome Jesus into this place!” Trump addressed attendees via video.
Among the prominent officials speaking were House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.. Hegseth’s presence carried additional controversy tied to his prior use of a prayer service to ask God for “overwhelming violence against enemies” in the US war against Iran.
The event also drew substantial criticism from civil liberties groups and religious opponents of Christian nationalism.. Public Citizen Co-President Robert Weissman said the gathering “makes a mockery of a core constitutional tenet of American life. the separation of church and state. ” and argued it promoted “a particular flavor of white evangelical protestantism as state-sponsored religion.” He added that the “self-proclaimed day of thanksgiving” torpedoes “the best of American traditions—inclusivity and diversity” and “has no place being connected to the U.S.. government.”
Outside, counterprotests were organized by Faithful America, a group opposing Christian nationalism, and by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which hired a truck with a screen calling to “Celebrate Democracy, Not Theocracy.”
Hundreds of attendees waiting to enter the event were accosted by a heckler using a megaphone to accuse them of “supporting a pedophile.” The accusation appeared to reference unsubstantiated claims connecting Trump to Jeffrey Epstein.
The religious lineup was also watched closely for how widely it reflected non-Christian faiths.. Just one of 15 scheduled speakers Sunday was an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi.. Organizers also held a shabbat service on the Mall the day before. aimed at addressing concerns among Trump’s Jewish supporters about Sunday’s heavily Protestant focus.
The program was organized by Freedom250. described as a private group established by the Trump administration using an undisclosed amount of federal funding. alongside corporate money from sponsors including United Airlines. ExxonMobil. John Deere. Lockheed Martin. MasterCard. Oracle and Palantir.. The administration has directed funds to Freedom250 that Congress appropriated to a different group. American250. a statutorily bipartisan group required to detail its spending to lawmakers.. The White House appears to have set up Freedom25o to sidestep those requirements.
Tensions also surfaced around what the event looked like on the ground. Around the perimeter, religious groups handed out literature, including some anti-Catholic materials.
Just two days after federal officials announced “Operation Summer Surge” would bring thousands of additional troops. ICE agents and other law enforcement to Washington—partly to police anniversary events—the security footprint around the prayer gathering was heavy.. National Guard troops, US Marshals agents, and agents from Homeland Security Investigations (part of ICE) milled about.
The administration’s spending trail for the 250th anniversary was also under scrutiny.. The Trump administration has awarded lucrative contracts for 250th anniversary celebrations to Event Strategies. a company that organized the rally Trump held on Jan.. 6, 2021 that was followed by the attack on the Capitol.. The article notes that reporting has said Event Strategies has at least $13 million in federal contracts.. It also states that owners of that company have denied responsibility for the ensuing riot. while adding that the company was paid $688. 000 for its work organizing that rally.
Beyond the prayer service. the administration is seeking $10 billion for a general fund the administration says will pay for beautification of federal land around Washington in connection with the 250th anniversary.. The Interior Department and other federal agencies have awarded no-bid contracts to firms reportedly favored by Trump to repair landscaping features. including the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool. citing an “urgency” exemption from federal contracting rules due to Trump’s wish for the work to be done by July 4.
Far from the ceremony. the administration’s anniversary messaging extended to a “freedom truck” described as one of a fleet of mobile museums.. Those displays include information about the country’s founders and include times when founders present right-leaning takes on US history.. The trucks will travel the US for the rest of the year and were created in partnership with right PragerU. which disseminates far right education material.. Staffers manning the truck said they work for Event Strategies.
The sequence of decisions and events points in the same direction: a federally funded prayer service framed as “rededicate America as One Nation Under God” sits alongside a fund-shifting move from American250 to Freedom250. contracts tied to Event Strategies. and a security buildup tied to Operation Summer Surge—each part moving toward a July 4 celebration with religious messaging and tightly managed oversight.
Trump 250th anniversary Rededicate 250 National Mall prayer service Freedom250 American250 Operation Summer Surge ICE Homeland Security Investigations Event Strategies Mike Johnson Marco Rubio Pete Hegseth church and state