Department of Labor hosts first-ever prayer service, including a message from a right-wing rabbi [View all]
Source: CNN Politics
Updated Dec 13, 2025, 2:55 PM ET
PUBLISHED Dec 12, 2025, 4:06 PM ET
The Department of Labor held its first-ever prayer service for its employees this week, in a highly unusual move that mirrors an initiative at the Pentagon.
The service, which took place Wednesday morning in the auditorium of the department’s headquarters, included a speech by Yaakov Menken, a right-wing orthodox Jewish rabbi, who during his speech, disparaged gay marriage, transgender people and the fact that people use gender pronouns, according to two Department of Labor employees who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to press.
An employee watching the event said the remarks caught them by surprise. “I was not prepared for the unnecessary cruelty.” Another employee said they were “appalled.” “I am an out queer person in the workplace and I don’t appreciate being spoken about in that hateful way,” the person said.
In a telephone interview with CNN on Friday, Menken pushed back on the characterization of his remarks as hateful, saying that he was instead advocating for “religious liberty” in the workplace and against employers requiring people to do things they say are against their beliefs. Many employees were taken aback by the service, sources told CNN, and some felt like it should not be happening in a government building during work hours.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/12/politics/department-of-labor-hosts-first-prayer-service-emulating-regular-pentagon-events
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