Top Trump Administration officials, Republican lawmakers, and influential Christian leaders gathered on the National Mall Sunday for a massive prayer rally centered on faith, patriotism, and America’s upcoming 250th anniversary.
The event, called “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,” drew thousands of attendees for worship music, speeches and public prayers focused on reaffirming the United States as “One Nation Under God.”
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and House Speaker Mike Johnson all addressed the gathering.
In a prerecorded message, Trump quoted from the Bible’s 2 Chronicles 7, reading the well-known verse calling on people to humble themselves and seek God.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land,” Trump said.
President Trump recited a passage from 2 Chronicles 7 during Sunday’s “Rededicate 250” celebration on the National Mall, including the well-known verse urging people to “humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways.”
The verse is often cited by… pic.twitter.com/9UPr7vBao0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 17, 2026
The rally leaned heavily into the idea that faith has been central to the American experiment since the country’s founding.
Vance described the United States as “a nation of prayer,” arguing that Americans historically turned to faith during both hardship and triumph.
“In times of suffering and in times of triumph, millions of Americans continue to turn to prayer and their faith in God,” Vance said.
Vice President JD Vance praised Americans for embracing prayer throughout the country's history — “in times of suffering and in times of triumph" — at the “Rededicate 250” gathering in Washington, D.C.
"It was obvious to the founders that our faith was the ground upon which… pic.twitter.com/ThsKkoYoSr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 17, 2026
Rubio echoed that message, tying America’s national identity directly to Christianity.
“From the beginning, we have carried the belief that our country represents something new in the world,” Rubio said. “But the soul of our nation has always been rooted in an ancient faith.”
From our country’s beginning, for as long as America has embodied freedom and exceptionalism, the soul of our nation has been rooted in the Christian faith.
Today we gather, as our forefathers did on this day centuries ago, to rededicate our nation to God. pic.twitter.com/xVFt8n9IHL
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 17, 2026
Gabbard invoked the Founding Fathers, saying the nation’s founders “knelt” and sought divine guidance before declaring independence from Britain.
Two hundred and fifty years ago today — on May 17th, 1776 — the Second Continental Congress called for a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer.
Today, exactly 250 years later, we gather to do the same. To humbly ask once more for God's mercy and guidance — as we enter the next… pic.twitter.com/NS1tzIRYTd
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) May 18, 2026
Johnson later delivered a prayer of “rededication,” thanking God for guiding the country since its founding nearly 250 years ago.
“Heavenly Father, we thank you,” Johnson said.
“Thank you so much for this great day that you’ve given us here, and we remember that your mighty hand has been upon our nation since the very beginning.”
Hegseth referenced the Christian faith of George Washington, while Sen. Tim Scott spoke about Christianity’s role in shaping the Civil Rights Movement.
Alveda King praised Trump for encouraging Americans to “rededicate America to God,” adding that her uncle, Martin Luther King Jr., “spoke to a crowd like this in 1963.”
The event served as both a patriotic celebration and a powerful public show of the close alliance between the Trump administration and conservative Christian voters heading into America’s semiquincentennial year.