Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins violated the US Constitution when she sent her workforce a series of proselytizing Christian messages, a new lawsuit alleges.
US Department of Agriculture employees and the union representing the agency’s workers sued Rollins Wednesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing her of engaging in an escalating pattern of sectarian sermonizing that reached a crescendo on the Easter holiday.
“Today we celebrate the greatest story ever told, the foundation of our faith, and the abiding hope of all mankind,” Rollins said in her April 5 email addressed to all USDA employees. “From the foot of the Cross on Good Friday to the stone rolled away from the now empty tomb, sin has been destroyed. Jesus has been raised from the dead.”
The workers and the National Federation of Federal Employees alleged that Rollin’s sermonizing violates the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, and are seeking an order declaring the proselytizing messages illegal and blocking further communications of that type.
The USDA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is an attempt to counter the Trump administration’s promotion of Christianity that critics view as crossing the line separating church and state.
Some of the administration’s pro-religion policies could ostensibly benefit many faiths, such as those allowing federal employees to pray and proselytize at work, permitting telework for religious reasons, and enabling some foreign religious workers to remain in the US after their work visas expire.
But other policies specifically boost Christianity. For example, President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing a task force to end “anti-Christian weaponization of government or unlawful conduct targeting Christians.” The task force’s 200-page report criticizes the Biden administration and highlights Trump’s pro-Christian policies.
Trump also appointed top officials who have made statements that intertwine the US and Christianity, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, and Rollins at the USDA.
Prior to joining the administration, Rollins founded and led the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank that argued “the gospel of Jesus Christ has been the greatest force for human flourishing the planet has ever seen” and “faith and politics do mix in America.”
‘Our Savior Jesus Christ’
The First Amendment lawsuit against the USDA and Rollins claims the secretary has promoted “her own preferred brand of Christian beliefs and theology to the captive audience of employees that report to her, directly or indirectly.”
Rollins’ initial messages appeared to be non-denominational, such as a July 4 email mentioning God protecting the US, or her Thanksgiving email crediting “gratitude towards a loving God” for bringing people together, according to the complaint.
But Rollins escalated her sermonizing in a Christmas message, which said “God gave us the greatest gift possible, the gift of his Son and our Savior Jesus Christ, who came to free us from our sins and open the door to eternal life,” the lawsuit said.
The USDA workers who sued said they are required to serve the public in a religiously neutral way, yet Rollins is proselytizing to the department’s entire workforce. The said they feel pressured, fearful of being singled out or disfavored for not agreeing with her version of Christianity, and worry about facing retaliation for objecting to her preaching from public office.
The plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Bryan Schwartz Law PC.
“The government is not permitted to force religion on people in this country—it is antithetical to core national principles and a direct assault on our democracy,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement.
The case is National Federation of Federal Employees v. USDA, N.D. Cal., No. 26-04406, complaint filed 5/13/26.
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