Department of Agriculture employees are suing Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins over a series of emails she sent to staff, arguing that the \u201cincreasingly proselytizing\u201d messages crossed a line and violated the First Amendment.<\/p>\n
The new lawsuit<\/a>, 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\u2019 message \u201cunconstitutionally coercive,\u201d as it sought \u201cto impose her brand of Christianity on the agency\u2019s 100,000 employees.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe work for the federal government, not a church. I just want to go to work and make my country better \u2014 I shouldn\u2019t have to suffer through sermons and other religious messages forced upon me by the head of a federal agency,\u201d said Ethan Roberts, a physical science technician at USDA and one of the plaintiffs. \u201cWhen 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\u2019ve dedicated 10 years to.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit seeks to stop Rollins from all further religious messaging, calling it a \u201cclear violation\u201d of the First Amendment, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n \u201cThe denominational favoritism conveyed in Secretary Rollins\u2019 communications indoctrinates USDA employees and has caused them to feel coerced, unwelcome, excluded and like outsiders to the agency,\u201d plaintiffs wrote. \u201cCrucially, Secretary Rollins has sent no messages even acknowledging \u2014 let alone celebrating or sermonizing \u2014 other religions\u2019 holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to Federal News Network\u2019s questions about the lawsuit, a USDA spokesperson said, \u201cwhile we do not comment on pending litigation, we will keep the plaintiffs in our prayers during this process.\u201d<\/p>\n Plaintiffs said Rollins\u2019 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, \u201cMay God continue to protect the United States of America and may His favor shine over all her land.\u201d And in a message sent on Thanksgiving, Rollins recognized \u201cgratitude towards a loving God\u201d when describing the first Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n But Rollins\u2019 later emails showed an \u201cescalating pattern,\u201d plaintiffs said. For instance, in an email sent around Christmas, Rollins wrote, \u201cGod 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.\u201d<\/p>\n And in her April 5 Easter message<\/a>, which has been made public, Rollins stated, \u201cToday we celebrate the greatest story ever told, the foundation of our faith and the abiding hope of all mankind.\u201d<\/p>\n Plaintiffs said the secretary\u2019s use of terms like \u201cour\u201d and \u201cwe\u201d suggests there is an \u201cin-group\u201d religion at USDA, and that those who don\u2019t share Rollins\u2019 religious views may be subjected to \u201cnegative consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n The Easter message pressured USDA employees, causing them to feel \u201cintimidated from expressing their own beliefs at work and compelled to shape their behavior accordingly and hide their own beliefs,\u201d the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n Some employees said the messages have instilled fear that they will be singled out or retaliated against if they do not share the secretary\u2019s personal religious views. Jennifer Wolfe, one of the plaintiffs, reported feeling pressured \u201cto pretend that she is Christian if she wants to advance in her career at USDA.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cnot possible,\u201d and that elevating the request to a higher USDA office would \u201ccreate trouble\u201d for her.<\/p>\n Rollins\u2019 messages also contradict USDA\u2019s own guidance on religious expression in the workplace, the lawsuit said. In November 2025<\/a>, the department issued a memo<\/a> emphasizing that employees have the right to express their religion in the workplace. The guidance states that USDA officials \u201ccannot use official authority to pressure subordinates\u201d and that employees who have religious conversations \u201cmust stop if a colleague asks you to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, called Rollins\u2019 messaging \u201ca particularly egregious example\u201d of a larger trend from Trump administration officials.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s only the tip of the iceberg,\u201d Laser said. \u201cAcross 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration has taken other steps promoting religious expression in the federal workplace. In February 2025, President Donald Trump signed an\u00a0executive order<\/a> establishing a task force responsible for reviewing agencies\u2019 activities to identify and eliminate any \u201canti-Christian policies, practices or conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n Agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs have launched their own internal teams<\/a> tasked with investigating instances of \u201canti-Christian bias\u201d in the workplace. The Office of Personnel Management has also encouraged agencies<\/a>\u00a0to grant telework exemptions to federal employees for religious purposes.<\/p>\n In July 2025, OPM released guidance<\/a> reinforcing that federal employees must be allowed to express their religion at work,\u00a0as long as it doesn\u2019t interfere with business operations. The guidance further stated that federal employees can try to persuade their coworkers of the \u201ccorrectness of their own religious views,\u201d as long as it doesn\u2019t rise to the level of harassment.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n Some federal employment attorneys have suggested<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government is not permitted to force religion on people in this country,\u201d said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. \u201cIt is antithetical to core national principles and a direct assault on our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cthe farmers, ranchers and rural communities who benefit from it.\u201d But federal unions representing the impacted USDA employees warn that the relocations will cause significant disruption<\/a>.<\/p>\n