Department of Agriculture employees are suing Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins over a series of emails she sent to staff, arguing that the “increasingly proselytizing” messages crossed a line and violated the First Amendment.

The new lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, comes in response to an Easter message Rollins sent to USDA employees in April. Plaintiffs called Rollins’ message “unconstitutionally coercive,” as it sought “to impose her brand of Christianity on the agency’s 100,000 employees.”

“We work for the federal government, not a church. I just want to go to work and make my country better — I shouldn’t have to suffer through sermons and other religious messages forced upon me by the head of a federal agency,” said Ethan Roberts, a physical science technician at USDA and one of the plaintiffs. “When the secretary sends an email, I have to read it. And when those emails are telling me what to believe, they make me feel unwelcome in an agency I’ve dedicated 10 years to.”

The lawsuit seeks to stop Rollins from all further religious messaging, calling it a “clear violation” of the First Amendment, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.

]]>

“The denominational favoritism conveyed in Secretary Rollins’ communications indoctrinates USDA employees and has caused them to feel coerced, unwelcome, excluded and like outsiders to the agency,” plaintiffs wrote. “Crucially, Secretary Rollins has sent no messages even acknowledging — let alone celebrating or sermonizing — other religions’ holidays.”

In response to Federal News Network’s questions about the lawsuit, a USDA spokesperson said, “while we do not comment on pending litigation, we will keep the plaintiffs in our prayers during this process.”

Plaintiffs said Rollins’ religious messaging has intensified over time, while her earlier messages appeared non-denominational. On July 4, 2025, for instance, the secretary sent an email recognizing Independence Day and included the statement, “May God continue to protect the United States of America and may His favor shine over all her land.” And in a message sent on Thanksgiving, Rollins recognized “gratitude towards a loving God” when describing the first Thanksgiving.

But Rollins’ later emails showed an “escalating pattern,” plaintiffs said. For instance, in an email sent around Christmas, Rollins wrote, “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.”

And in her April 5 Easter message, which has been made public, Rollins stated, “Today we celebrate the greatest story ever told, the foundation of our faith and the abiding hope of all mankind.”

Plaintiffs said the secretary’s use of terms like “our” and “we” suggests there is an “in-group” religion at USDA, and that those who don’t share Rollins’ religious views may be subjected to “negative consequences.”

The Easter message pressured USDA employees, causing them to feel “intimidated from expressing their own beliefs at work and compelled to shape their behavior accordingly and hide their own beliefs,” the lawsuit said.

]]>

Some employees said the messages have instilled fear that they will be singled out or retaliated against if they do not share the secretary’s personal religious views. Jennifer Wolfe, one of the plaintiffs, reported feeling pressured “to pretend that she is Christian if she wants to advance in her career at USDA.”

Another plaintiff, Lanette Dietrich, who asked to be removed from the USDA email distribution list due to the religious language, was told her request was “not possible,” and that elevating the request to a higher USDA office would “create trouble” for her.

Rollins’ messages also contradict USDA’s own guidance on religious expression in the workplace, the lawsuit said. In November 2025, the department issued a memo emphasizing that employees have the right to express their religion in the workplace. The guidance states that USDA officials “cannot use official authority to pressure subordinates” and that employees who have religious conversations “must stop if a colleague asks you to stop.”

In their lawsuit, USDA employees and the National Federation of Federal Employees, a union representing over 19,000 USDA workers, are represented by attorneys at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Democracy Forward and Bryan Schwartz Law.

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, called Rollins’ messaging “a particularly egregious example” of a larger trend from Trump administration officials.

“It’s only the tip of the iceberg,” Laser said. “Across the federal government, this administration has misused taxpayer resources to preach, hold government-sponsored prayer services during work time and broadcast Christian Nationalism on official social media channels.”

The Trump administration has taken other steps promoting religious expression in the federal workplace. In February 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a task force responsible for reviewing agencies’ activities to identify and eliminate any “anti-Christian policies, practices or conduct.”

Agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs have launched their own internal teams tasked with investigating instances of “anti-Christian bias” in the workplace. The Office of Personnel Management has also encouraged agencies to grant telework exemptions to federal employees for religious purposes.

In July 2025, OPM released guidance reinforcing that federal employees must be allowed to express their religion at work, as long as it doesn’t interfere with business operations. The guidance further stated that federal employees can try to persuade their coworkers of the “correctness of their own religious views,” as long as it doesn’t rise to the level of harassment.

]]>

Some federal employment attorneys have suggested that because agency officials in supervisory roles hold more power and control, religious expression from leadership may pressure employees and open up agencies to legal action.

“The government is not permitted to force religion on people in this country,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. “It is antithetical to core national principles and a direct assault on our democracy.”

USDA is also embarking on a multi-part plan to relocate employees from its component agencies outside of the Washington, D.C., area, and closer to “the farmers, ranchers and rural communities who benefit from it.” But federal unions representing the impacted USDA employees warn that the relocations will cause significant disruption.

If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email drew.friedman@federalnewsnetwork.com or reach out on Signal at drewfriedman.11

Copyright
© 2026 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.