Posted on Friday, October 10, 2025<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
by Outside Contributor<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t23 Comments \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tPrint<\/a><\/p>\n Photo Credit | @SecDuffy<\/p>\n Secretary of Transportation\u00a0Sean Duffy<\/a>\u00a0has restored to prominence a painting of Jesus Christ at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, after it was demoted following a complaint about its Christian message.<\/p>\n \u201cJesus is out of the basement! I promised you I would restore faith at\u00a0@UsmmaO<\/a>\u00a0by returning \u2018Christ on the Water\u2019 to its place of prominence, where it belongs after being taken down under Biden and my predecessor. God is good for these Mariners \u2013 true FAITHFUL American patriots!\u201d Duffy\u00a0wrote in a post<\/a>\u00a0on the social media platform X.<\/p>\n Jesus is out of the basement!<\/p>\n I promised you I would restore faith at @UsmmaO<\/a> by returning \u201cChrist on the Water\u201d to its place of prominence, where it belongs after being taken down under Biden and my predecessor. <\/p>\n God is good for these Mariners \u2013 true FAITHFUL American\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/99ddlMnyDr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) September 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The complaint against the painting had contended that it was sending \u201can improper message of preferred faith\u00a0in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution.\u201d The Biden administration subsequently removed the work of art to a lower rear hallway in the Mariners\u2019 Memorial Chapel.<\/p>\n The painting itself, which depicts Jesus appearing before a group of sailors in a lifeboat, had hung in the Elliot M. See Conference Room of Wiley Hall for 76 years prior to its removal. According to the academy, Hunter Wood, the artwork\u2019s painter,\u00a0meant\u00a0<\/a>for it to be \u201ca tribute to all merchant seamen, especially to cadet-midshipmen (as they were then known) who had been torpedoed during World War II.\u201d<\/p>\n Wood served in both the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Maritime Service during the 1940s. He was involved in military combat during the invasion of North Africa in 1942. His artwork can also be found in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the Mariners\u2019 Museum and Park, and the U.S. Coast Guard Historian\u2019s Office.\u00a0<\/p>\n Duffy\u2019s restoration of the artwork to its place of prominence comes at a time when the Trump administration has sought to reform the federal bureaucracy and bring back names removed during previous presidencies. In January, for example, President Donald Trump\u00a0reversed the decision<\/a>\u00a0initially made by the Obama administration to change the federal designation of Mount McKinley in Alaska.\u00a0<\/p>\n The president also created a\u00a0Religious Liberty Commission<\/a>\u00a0to protect the free exercise of faith in the nation and established a\u00a0task force<\/a>\u00a0in the Justice Department to eradicate anti-Christian bias in the government.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the armed services front, the Trump administration has brought back the name of\u00a0Fort Bragg<\/a>\u00a0in North Carolina and redesignated the Defense Department as the\u00a0Department of War<\/a>, which harkens back to Wood\u2019s time when the Allies were triumphant in Europe and the Pacific in World War II.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has also sought settlements with\u00a0major American universities<\/a>\u00a0to bring them in compliance with federal law. Duffy\u2019s recent effort touches on one such distinguished institution of higher education. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is one of five highly regarded four-year service academies in the United States. It grants attendees college degrees, as well as\u00a0a commission<\/a>\u00a0in a reserve component of the U.S. military. Famous alumni include Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Olympic medalist Morgan Reeser; several admirals; and Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the well-known personal finance book \u201cRich Dad, Poor Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob Adams<\/a> is a journalism fellow at The Daily Signal.<\/p>\n Reprinted with Permission from The Daily Signal<\/a> \u2013 By Jacob Adams<\/strong><\/p>\n The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\n