The secretary of the Army has instructed the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to reinstate the school’s crest on the Bibles at the West Point Cadet Chapel, overturning a previous decision made during the Biden administration.
“Since the establishment of West Point and even before, generations of cadets, officers, and Soldiers have found strength and inspiration in God’s word,” stated Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll in a message to Fox News Digital on Friday. “The removal of the Academy’s historic crest from the Bibles in the Cadet Chapel is yet another example of the previous administration injecting far-left politics into our military institutions. I am ordering West Point to immediately reverse this decision and restore this significant symbol of Duty, Honor, Country.”
The Class of 2026 unveiled its crest during Plebe-Parent Weekend in March 2023. (U.S. Army)
Driscoll’s statement follows a report by Fox News Digital that a conservative judicial and government watchdog group had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Defense regarding documents related to why the crest was omitted from the new Bibles.
A spokesperson for West Point declined to provide a comment to Fox News Digital on Friday.
Judicial Watch initially requested records in December 2024 concerning the Bibles, after the MacArthur Society, a group of West Point graduates worried about potential politicization at the military academy, informed them about the removal of the crest from the Bibles.
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 about the new Bibles, a West Point spokesperson informed Fox News Digital that the chapel’s Bibles now display 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 stated to Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
Judicial Watch initiated the FOIA request to gain insights into the decision, due to concerns that the military academy is attempting to sever ties with what the group describes as “traditional values.”
After receiving no response for the documents, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense on Tuesday.
“Judicial Watch’s efforts yield results,” remarked Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday. “This demonstrates how our legal actions exposing corruption can rectify corruption. The US Army and West Point are making the right decision in honoring God.”
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 informed Fox News Digital that it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Historically, combining religious content or symbols with military material has been met with criticism. In 2012, all four branches of the military revoked approval for a military series of Holman Christian Standard Bibles that were being sold in military exchanges due to concerns that the series implied that the Bible served as the official religious text of the military services.
The West Point crest has seen various versions but traditionally includes 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.
