First Amendment
Employees sue USDA secretary over ‘increasingly proselytizing’ Christian emails
Brooke Rollins, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, speaks at an event on May 5, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
Employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the union representing the agency’s workers are suing the secretary of the deparment over a series of emails promoting Christianity.
The workers and the National Federation of Federal Employees alleged in a federal complaint filed Wednesday that Secretary Brooke Rollins “has adopted a practice of sending increasingly proselytizing communications to the entire USDA workforce, promoting her own preferred brand of Christian beliefs and theology.”
They also alleged that this “practice reached a crescendo” with an email that Rollins sent to all USDA employees on Easter.
“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, which was published by Bloomberg Law. “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 union alleged in their lawsuit that Rollins’ emails violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause and the Administrative Procedure Act, and they are asking the court to stop Rollins and all other USDA officials from issuing religious communications.
When asked for comment, USDA spokesperson Michael Abboud told Bloomberg Law that “while we do not comment on pending litigation, we will keep the plaintiffs in our prayers during this process.”
The case is National Federation of Federal Employees v. USDA, and it was filed in the Northern District of California.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
