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Decision to remove West Point crest from chapel Bibles reversed by secretary of the Army
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EXCLUSIVE: The secretary of the Army has ordered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to restore the school’s crest on the Bibles at the West Point Cadet Chapel, reversing a Biden-era decision to not include the crest when replacing the Bibles.
«Since the founding of West Point and before, generations of cadets, officers, and Soldiers have drawn strength and inspiration from God’s word,» Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll said in a Friday statement to Fox News Digital. «The decision to remove the Academy’s historic crest from the Bibles in the Cadet Chapel is yet another example of the previous administration pushing far-left politics into our military institutions. I am directing West Point to reverse this decision immediately and restore this important symbol of Duty, Honor, Country.»
WEST POINT BIBLE CREST CONTROVERSY SPURS PENTAGON LAWSUIT FROM CONSERVATIVE WATCHDOG
The Class of 2026 unveiled its crest during Plebe-Parent Weekend in March 2023. (U.S. Army)
Driscoll’s statement comes after Fox News Digital first reported that a conservative judicial and government watchdog group had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit Tuesday against the Department of Defense over documents regarding why the crest was absent from the new Bibles.
A spokesperson for West Point declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital on Friday.
Judicial Watch first submitted a FOIA request in December 2024 seeking records related to the Bibles, after the MacArthur Society, a group for West Point graduates concerned about potential politicization at the military academy, notified them of the removal of the crest from the Bibles.
WEST POINT DECISION TO CUT ‘DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY’ FROM MISSION STATEMENT UNDER FIRE AGAIN’
Daniel Driscoll, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Department of Defense’s Secretary of the Army, testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP)
When asked for comment about the new Bibles, a spokesperson for West Point told Fox News Digital that the chapel’s Bibles now feature the name of the military academy.
«The bibles purchased for the West Point Cadet Chapel are emblazoned with ‘The United States Miliary Academy, West Point, New York,’» the spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital Wednesday.
Judicial Watch filed the original FOIA request to learn more about the decision, due to concerns that the military academy is seeking to eliminate ties with what the group labels «traditional values.»
But after receiving no response for the documents, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense for the documents Tuesday.
«Judicial Watch’s heavy lifting gets results,» Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a Friday statement to Fox News Digital. «Goes to show again how our lawsuits exposing corruption can fix corruption. The US Army and West Point can’t go wrong in honoring God.»
HEGSETH QUIPS ‘99.9%’ OF DEI INITIATIVES ARE GONE FROM THE MILITARY UNDER TRUMP’S WATCH
The graduating class of the United States Military Academy arrive for their graduation ceremony at West Point in Michie Stadium on May 24, 2025, in West Point, New York.
The Pentagon told Fox News Digital that it does not comment on pending litigation.
Combining religious content or symbols with military material has faced backlash historically.
In 2012, all four branches of the military pulled approval for a military series of Holman Christian Standard Bibles that had been sold in military exchanges amid concerns that the series indicated that the Bible served as the official religious text of the military services, according to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
The West Point crest has undergone several iterations but historically has included an eagle above the school’s mascot, the Black Knights.
West Point is one of several U.S. military academies that train students to become military officers.
INTERNACIONAL
Rubio slams UNRWA as a ‘subsidiary of Hamas,’ vows it will not ‘play any role’ in delivering aid to Gaza
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Israel shortly after Vice President JD Vance left for Washington, railed against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) amid the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
«UNRWA’s not going to play any role in it,» Rubio said when asked about whether the controversial agency would assist in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. «The United Nations is here. They’re on the ground. We’re willing to work with them if they can make it work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas.»
UNRWA demanded in a post on X that it be allowed to do work in Gaza.
«As the largest U.N. agency operating in the Gaza Strip, by far, UNRWA has an unparalleled logistical network, longstanding trust from the community, managing the distribution of supplies based on vulnerability and clear criteria. Our teams are ready, inside and outside Gaza. Let us work,» the agency wrote.
EXPERTS URGE TRUMP TO BAN TERROR-LINKED UN AGENCY FROM HIS GAZA PEACE PLAN
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to a question as he speaks to the media after visiting the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel on Oct. 24, 2025. (Fadel Senna/Pool via Reuters)
On Oct. 17, days after world leaders backed a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) opened a Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), which is where Rubio spoke on Friday.
The CMCC is located in southern Israel and will serve as the main hub for Gaza stabilization efforts. It will also oversee implementation of the ceasefire agreement and has an operations floor designed to track real-time developments in Gaza.
During the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) last month, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres spoke at a meeting in support of UNRWA, saying that the agency has «made invaluable contributions to development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security, including for Israel.»
«UNRWA is vital to any prospects for peace and stability in the region,» Guterres added.
UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, Gaza, on Feb. 21, 2024. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
US MILITARY TO OVERSEE NEXT PHASE OF PEACE DEAL FROM COORDINATION BASE IN ISRAEL
However, the U.S. and Israel have taken hard stances against the agency, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
President Donald Trump in February reaffirmed the U.S.’s commitment to not fund UNRWA.
In the executive order, Trump said that «UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.»
A Palestinian boy walks near an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people that was hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Gaza City on July 5, 2025. (Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)
UNRWA SCHOOLS ‘HIJACKED BY HAMAS,’ WATCHDOG REPORT WARNS
In April 2025, when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demanded Israel work with UNRWA, Washington backed Jerusalem, saying it was under no obligation to work with the agency and had «ample grounds to question UNRWA’s impartiality.»
UNRWA announced in August 2024 the end of an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services into whether its staff participated in the attacks, as Israel claimed. Following the probe, which looked into 19 UNRWA staff members, nine staff members were fired over evidence that «could indicate» they were involved in the attacks.
The investigation found one case in which there was no evidence to confirm the staffer’s involvement and nine other cases in which «the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient» to prove their participation, according to UNRWA.
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Fox News Digital reached out to UNRWA and Israel’s mission to the U.N. for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
israel,secretary of state,marco rubio,united nations
INTERNACIONAL
En una importante muestra de apoyo, Carlos III recibe a Zelenski con honores de Estado en Windsor
Honores militares
El Mayor Ben Tracey, capitán de la Guardia de Honor, junto al rey y el presidente ucraniano. Foto: Reuters
El Rey apoya abiertamente a Ucrania frente a la invasión rusa. Foto: APUn defensor de Ucrania
Después de la humillación de Trump
Toda la familia real involucrada
La Cumbre de Buena Voluntad
Starmer recibe a Zelenski en Londres. Foto: AP
Sen. Lankford proposes bill to avoid government shutdowns
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., join ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss the failed vote to pay federal workers amid the government shutdown as they enter their first week without pay.
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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has canceled votes in the House of Representatives for a fourth straight week as the government shutdown shows no signs of ending.
Johnson’s move is a part of his continued pressure strategy on Senate Democrats and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who have sunk the GOP’s federal funding plan 12 times since Sept. 19, when the House passed the measure.
Sept. 19 was also the last day the House was in session, meaning lawmakers have been largely in their home districts for over a month.
Republicans are pushing a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending levels through Nov. 21 — called a continuing resolution (CR) — aimed at giving congressional negotiators time to strike a longer-term deal for FY2026.
SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES
House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, is canceling House votes to pressure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, for refusing to agree to a GOP-led plan to avert a government shutdown. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Democrats, furious at being sidelined in federal funding discussions, have been withholding their support for any spending bill that does not also extend COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are due to expire at the end of this year.
Johnson’s decision was made public on Friday afternoon during a brief pro forma session in the House. Under rules dictated by the Constitution, the chamber must meet for brief periods every few days called «pro forma» sessions to ensure continuity, even if there are no formal legislative matters at hand.
Pro forma sessions can also be opportunities for lawmakers to give brief speeches or introduce legislation that they otherwise would not have.
Democrats have criticized Johnson’s decision, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., telling reporters that House Republicans have been «on vacation for the last four weeks.»
The government is in a shutdown after Congress failed to reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)
Republicans, however, have largely stayed united behind Johnson as the shutdown continues.
«I mean, if all of a sudden the Senate wants to pass a clean CR, I would imagine there are some options on the table that we can pursue to get things back on track,» said Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., who presided over the House chamber on Friday.
«I would defer, ultimately, to [leadership’s] decisions for the schedule. But right now, I don’t see any sign that we need to change what has been on the counter.»
But there have been several notable defections. Both Reps. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., have made their criticism of Johnson’s strategy known publicly for weeks.
«I believe very strongly that it’s the wrong decision,» Kiley told MSNBC earlier this week, adding House lawmakers were not «doing all the things we’re supposed to be doing» aside from figuring out how to end the shutdown.
BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN
Rep. Kevin Kiley, seen in August 2023, has been critical of Johnson’s shutdown strategy. (Scott Strazzante-Pool/Getty Images)
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Multiple House lawmakers have also raised concerns about being out of session on private weekly calls that Johnson holds with members of the GOP conference.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, was the most recent House Republican to suggest the GOP could be in a stronger position if they were back in Washington, Fox News Digital was told.
«I think the longer that we are out, the messaging is starting to get old,» Van Duyne told fellow House Republicans on their Tuesday call.
house of representatives politics,mike johnson,politics,chuck schumer
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