A major evangelical college has removed a social media post congratulating an alumnus for his appointment in the Trump administration, prompting controversy and debate.
Wheaton College over the weekend deleted a post congratulating alumnus Russell Vought for his confirmation as President Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Campus brass made the call after receiving steep criticism from Facebook followers for the congratulatory post.
“On Friday, Wheaton College posted a congratulations and a call to prayer for an alumnus who received confirmation to a White House post. The recognition and prayer is something we would typically do for any graduate who reached that level of government,” the college posted on Facebook.
“However, the political situation surrounding the appointment led to a significant concern expressed online. It was not our intention to embroil the College in a political discussion or dispute. Our institutional and theological commitments are clear that the College, as a non-profit institution, does not make political endorsements. Wheaton College’s focus is on Christ and His Kingdom.”
The post deleted by the college simply stated: “Wheaton College congratulates and prays for 1998 graduate Russell Vought regarding his senatorial confirmation to serve as the White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget.”
Responses to the post included:
“I can assure you many of us Alumni wish this Project 2025 fascist the worst. Completely anti-Christian in his approach to politics – which consists of targeting the least of these.”
“What!? Give me a break! What about all the amazing young graduates who are working for USAID and World Relief and are now out of a job because of this Christian Nationalist administration? This is a ridiculous partisan post. This appointment should not be celebrated.”
“As a graduate of Wheaton College and as a former employee who worked there for almost 15 years, this is not an occasion to celebrate. Rather, it is a time to lament.”
“I’m ashamed and embarrassed that my alma mater would endorse someone whose words and beliefs go so far against the words and beliefs of Jesus.”
But deleting the post has also caused outrage:
“We are disgusted that Vought attended Wheaton College and is representing our school in such a negative fashion.”
“You taught us ‘for Christ and His Kingdom.’ That wasn’t supposed to mean forcing His kingdom on everyone through theocratic fascism. Where is your voice on this? I strongly encourage all other alumni and most of all Wheaton itself to speak out against the unconstitutional, anti-American actions Vought and his compatriots are taking. If you don’t speak out, at some point we in the alumni community will start taking note of this as either a lack of backbone, or eventually, complicity.”
“So you removed a post congratulating an alum because you don’t do politics. This is also politics.”
This is just the absolutely lamest, most embarrassing thing imaginable. First of all, you didn’t make a political endorsement – you congratulated an alumnus for receiving a major appointment and said you would PRAY for him. Second, when you say your focus is on Christ and His… pic.twitter.com/GgIFy6x3mb
— David L. Bahnsen (@DavidBahnsen) February 8, 2025
Owen Anderson, a professor at Arizona State University and an outspoken Christian, told The College Fix that it’s not altogether surprising that a Christian college would make such a move.
“As a professor at a state university, I often hear Christian families dismiss radical leftist infiltration of state schools because they presume that the Christianity university is still safe. However, the reality is that Christian universities still hire professors who were trained in the same programs as their state university counterparts,” he told The College Fix via email Sunday.
“Wheaton University’s inability to congratulate a graduate appointed to a high office in the Trump administration should be a warning to all Christian parents who think such Christian schools are still conservative,” he said.
Daily Wire’s Megan Basham reported that Wheaton has often landed on the side of anti-Trump politics:
While Wheaton did not make any formal political endorsements in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, the school did host a political event with anti-Trump speakers. On September 12, it welcomed The After Party, a political Bible study program created by New York Times columnist David French, Christianity Today editor-in-chief Russell Moore, and Duke Divinity consulting professor Curtis Chang, all three of whom openly opposed Trump’s candidacy. French went as far as to endorse Kamala Harris, while Chang called Trump’s win “a disaster for the country” that left him in “anguish.”
Though The After Party says its mission is to “reframe Christian political thinking,” it was financed exclusively by left-wing secular funders, including Bill Kristol’s anti-Trump group, the Defending Democracy Together Institute — which the campaign finance watchdog Open Secrets highlighted as a major source of dark money in the 2020 and 2024 elections.
In contrast to Wheaton, Hillsdale College, another Christian institution, stood behind its congratulations of Vought, posting on X: “Trigger warning: We will not be deleting our earlier post congratulating @RussVought.”
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IMAGE: X screenshot / Vought
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