The Frances Perkins Department of Labor building in Washington, DC, is seen on August 4, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File

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 employee 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 th

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