Christian College Caves to Woke Mob, Apologizes For Congratulating Alum In Trump Admin 

Illinois’ Wheaton College has long traded on its reputation as a doctrinally conservative Christian institution. Its landing page promises prospective students that they will “find [their] Christ-centered calling” at the school. And its alumni list reads like who’s who of evangelical leaders.

But the college is unwilling to honor the accomplishments of one famous son because of his association with the Trump administration.

On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Russ Vought, who has a strong pro-life record, to lead the Office of Management and Budget, with all 51 Republicans voting in his favor. The following day, Wheaton’s social media accounts commended Vought, posting that the school “congratulates and prays” for him.

But by Saturday morning, negative comments left by Facebook users prompted Wheaton to retract the post.

“The recognition and prayer is something we would typically do for any graduate who reached that level of government,” Wheaton said in a statement. “However, the political situation surrounding [Vought’s] appointment led to a significant concern expressed online. It was not our intention to embroil the College in a political discussion or dispute.” 

The college added that “as a non-profit institution, [it] does not make political endorsements,” even though its congratulatory message was not at all partisan.

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. Moreover, Christian authors like Natasha Crain have highlighted that The After Party’s content is “in no way non-partisan” and seems intended to “confuse [church] members into believing that there’s a moral equivalence between the political parties.”

 Wheaton does not appear to have held any similar political events with conservative speakers in 2024, and Vought told The Daily Wire that he has not been welcomed to speak to students at the school since his early years as a Hill staffer.

The Daily Wire reached out to Wheaton about its Vought retraction, The After Party event, and whether it welcomed conservative speakers in 2024. Wheaton spokesman Joseph Moore replied “Offering prayers and congratulations is not a political endorsement. However, the social media post created a distracting amount of conflict on our social media channel, so we removed it and explained why.”

Eric Teetsel, Executive Vice President of the Center for Renewing America and former Vice President of Government Relations at the Heritage Foundation, is, like Vought, a Wheaton graduate with a long history in conservative politics. He told The Daily Wire he’s incredibly disappointed in his alma mater, and no longer feels he can recommend it to friends. 

“Last summer, I proudly walked two of my daughters around campus to see the place that means so much to me,” he said. “It breaks my heart that I could not in good conscience encourage them to attend Wheaton, too. The alumni magazine always features generational students. Some have family members going back seven and eight generations! I always wanted that. It sucks.”

 Economist and author David Bahnsen echoed Teetsel’s sentiments, writing on X, “Admitting you took down a ‘call to prayer’ because people online were mad at you is rank cowardice. Parents should take note of [Wheaton’s] boldness and courage when considering a school for their young adult children, because this is seriously pathetic.” 

Bahnsen added in a text to The Daily Wire: “Their rationale for the takedown was even worse than the takedown.”

Members of Congress, too, were quick to express their disgust with Wheaton’s capitulation. 

“Russ Vought is a highly accomplished alumni who should be celebrated. It’s absurd that the smallest minority of detractors come away victorious yet again,” Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt said.

Hillsdale College, which, like Wheaton, is a private institution, had also congratulated Vought on its social media pages on Thursday. On Saturday, it reaffirmed those well wishes, posting, “Trigger warning: We will not be deleting our earlier post congratulating Russ Vought.”