President Donald Trump is scheduled to read a passage of scripture from the Oval Office this week as part of a seven-day national Bible reading event timed to the country's 250th anniversary.

The initiative, called America Reads the Bible, brings together nearly 500 public figures, faith leaders, politicians, and entertainers for a continuous public reading from Genesis to Revelation. Daily readings run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., from April 19 through April 25. Great American Pure Flix is livestreaming the entire week for free.

What the Event Involves

The event was organized by Bunni Pounds, founder and president of Christians Engaged, patterned after Ezra's public reading of scripture in the Old Testament. It opened with a ceremony on April 18 at National Community Church in Washington, D.C., under the theme "One Week. One Nation. One Book."

Pounds said organizers specifically set aside a passage for the president. "We needed someone special to read Second Chronicles, chapter seven," she told Fox News. Trump will deliver his reading via video message during the 6 p.m. hour on April 21. Dr. Ben Carson and his wife Candy are scheduled to read immediately after.

Ahead of the event, the White House issued a presidential message describing the Bible's influence on American history as "extraordinary," tracing scripture's role from the writings of John Winthrop and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 through to the present day.

The Verse Trump Will Read

Trump has been assigned 2 Chronicles 7:11–22, which includes the verse most commonly cited in evangelical political circles: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

The passage carries layered political history. After Trump's 2016 election, evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Billy Graham, cited 2 Chronicles 7:14 as evidence that God was answering the prayers of his people. More recently, the same verse was quoted aloud at the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot by Couy Griffin, founder of "Cowboys for Trump." Many Americans who encounter passages like this in times of national tension find them a source of communal identity and comfort.

Pounds called Trump's assignment of the passage a source of “hope for national healing and renewal.”

Who Else Is Participating

Several cabinet members and senior White House officials are scheduled to read during the week alongside Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins are all on the schedule. White House faith advisors Paula White-Cain and Jenny Korn are also participating.

Hegseth has been the administration's most visible figure on matters of official religious practice. He has hosted Pentagon prayer services, quoted scripture in military briefings, and earlier this year invited a pastor who supports Christian theocracy to lead prayer at the Department of Defense. At a recent Pentagon press briefing on the Iran war, he compared reporters to Pharisees, "the self-appointed elites of their time" who doubted Jesus' goodness.

A Week of Religious Controversy

Trump's participation comes after a turbulent stretch involving religion. Just days before the Bible reading event, he posted and then deleted an AI-generated image of himself depicted as a Christlike figure in a doctor's coat. Trump told reporters he believed the image showed him as a doctor "making people better" and said he was unaware it would be interpreted as religious imagery.

The post came during a public feud with Pope Leo, who had spoken out against U.S. involvement in the Iran conflict. Trump called the pope "terrible for Foreign Policy" and said he was "not a fan of Pope Leo." The pope responded by saying he had "no fear of the Trump administration." The clash drew wide attention and others in the administration have similarly faced scrutiny over unconventional statements on faith and public life.

What Historians Are Saying

Margaret Susan Thompson, a professor of history and political science at Syracuse University, told CNN that 2 Chronicles 7:14 has long been used by evangelical Christians as "a justification of calling upon God to bless their nation."

Thompson acknowledged that American presidents have historically integrated personal faith into their governing roles — from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush. But she drew a distinction between private conviction and public mandate. "The problem is when it is prescribed for the entire nation as normative or as mandatory as a religious kind of doctrine," she said. The America Reads the Bible event is hosted by Christians Engaged, a ministry of Family Policy Alliance Foundation, and lists more than 122 partnering ministries.

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