WASHINGTON — Housing and City Improvement Secretary Scott Turner instructed his 1000’s of federal workers that they will go away work early Friday in honor of Easter and Passover, sending them a openly non secular message declaring “all men are endowed by their creator” with sure rights and referencing a time when “Jesus broke bread and drank wine with his disciples showing that sacrifice can truly change the world.”
Turner knowledgeable HUD employees in an inside electronic mail Wednesday evening that they will go away work 4 hours early Friday to start their non secular rituals.
“America’s founding fathers proclaimed that all men are endowed by their creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — this declaration rang true as the Jews fled Egypt and found freedom in the Holy Land, and it rang true once again when Jesus broke bread and drank wine with his disciples showing that sacrifice can truly change the world,” reads the e-mail despatched on behalf of Turner by way of his chief of employees, Andrew Hughes.
He encourages authorities workers to move into the “holy weekend” reflecting on the freedoms they’ve “that the world has never known.”
“I hope that everyone at HUD takes a moment to recognize what a privilege it is to live in a country that puts her citizens first,” reads Turner’s message.
Not solely does the HUD secretary’s message blur the road between church and state, however his name on employees to mirror on how how fortunate they’re to dwell in a rustic that “puts her citizens first” is wildly disconnected from the fact that President Donald Trump is actively in search of methods to deport U.S. residents, arresting and detaining U.S. residents, deporting U.S. citizen kids with mother and father who’re undocumented and, most alarmingly, defying a Supreme Court docket order to carry again a Maryland man who was within the nation legally however deported to El Salvador resulting from an “administrative error.”
A HUD spokesperson didn’t reply to a request for touch upon why Turner despatched a message to authorities workers overtly celebrating Jesus and Christian beliefs. As an alternative, they criticized HuffPost for asking the query in any respect and began speaking about unrelated stuff like gangs.
“Huffington Post’s Trump Derangement Syndrome is so severe it is standing up for criminal gang members while standing against the Judeo-Christian values our country was founded on,” mentioned the HUD spokesperson. “Our constitution says that we were endowed by our creator. Every coin minted and dollar printed is minted with America’s motto ‘In God We Trust.’ HUD will continue to follow President Trump’s leadership in protecting our first amendment right to freedom of religion.”
(The U.S. Structure doesn’t say we had been endowed by our creator.)
HuffPost obtained a screenshot of Turner’s electronic mail to HUD workers, however the picture is fairly crappy, so right here’s a transcript of the total electronic mail:
Early Launch for Easter and Passover
HUD Employees,
On behalf of Secretary Scott Turner, I’m excited to announce there will probably be a four-hour early launch on Friday, April 18, 2025 in recognition of Easter and Passover this weekend.
Secretary Turner encourages our HUD workforce to mirror with household and associates as they break bread and have fun the reward of freedom.
America’s founding fathers proclaimed that every one males are endowed by their creator with the correct to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — this declaration rang true because the Jews fled Egypt and located freedom within the Holy Land, and it rang true as soon as once more when Jesus broke bread and drank wine together with his disciples exhibiting that sacrifice can actually change the world.
We go into this holy weekend with freedoms that the world has by no means recognized, and I hope that everybody at HUD takes a second to acknowledge what a privilege it’s to dwell in a rustic that places her residents first.
Please see the connected Employees Bulletin with essential data on time holding and directions for early dismissal. Please be aware, this early launch permits workers to finish their workday 4 hours previous to the tip of their scheduled tour of obligation.
Thanks in your service and God Bless,
Andrew Hughes
Chief of Employees
Turner’s electronic mail was so overtly non secular that some HUD workers contacted the Freedom From Faith Basis, a nationwide nonprofit group targeted on defending the constitutional precept of separation between state and church. On Thursday, the group filed a grievance urging the HUD secretary to rescind his message.
This electronic mail “has made staff extremely uncomfortable,” reads the grievance from FFRF employees lawyer Samantha Lawrence.
“We ask that HUD reverse this decision and refrain from officially observing religious holidays going forward,” Lawrence mentioned. “Easter and Passover are not federal holidays, and these holidays hold significance only for people who practice Christianity or Judaism. It is inappropriate and unconstitutional for a government agency to close in observance of a Christian or Jewish holy day and use official communications channels to promote religion to employees.”
Turner’s message to HUD workers to “celebrate the gift of freedom” additionally comes at a time when Trump is assaulting Individuals’ freedoms on a number of fronts. The president is attempting to suppress folks’s freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, ladies’s freedom to decide on whether or not to have an abortion, transgender folks’s freedom to exist in any respect, and the freedoms of a wholesome American democracy itself, to call some.
HuffPost heard from one Jewish HUD worker who famous the “break bread” reference in Turner’s electronic mail landed with a thud, as folks explicitly don’t eat bread throughout Passover. The Jewish vacation commemorates Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, and Jews historically eat matzah instead of bread, as an emblem of how swiftly Israelites fled Egypt.
Different HUD staffers made unhappy jokes on social media about how getting to go away early Friday may imply they’ll by no means come again, as Trump has directed mass firings at HUD. Elon Musk, Trump’s billionaire buddy and head of the so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity, has referred to as for firing at the least 50% of HUD employees, in some circumstances illegally. These cuts will disproportionately harm low-income and aged Individuals.
“Please diligently check your email all Friday night for your RIF notice,” wrote one consumer on Reddit in a thread in regards to the HUD electronic mail. RIF is an acronym for discount in drive.
“Jesus would never have sent RIF notices on the holy weekend,” wrote one other consumer.
Nonetheless one other responded, “What about the Antichrist?”
