(RNS) — Despite Wheaton College’s attempts to quiet a backlash from alumni over its pro forma congratulatory message recognizing alumnus and newly confirmed White House official Russell Vought, the actions of the “deliberately non-partisan” evangelical Christian school have only brought more controversy.
After Wheaton posted its Feb. 7 statement asking for prayers for Vought, alumni and others answered on social media, objecting to Vought’s work as an architect of Project 2025, the proposed agenda for a second Trump administration, and as a past and current White House director of the Office of Management and Budget. Wheaton soon withdrew its statement, saying the flap had rendered its congratulations more political than it intended.
On Feb. 10, an open letter signed by hundreds of alumni appeared, calling Vought’s positions “antithetical to Christian charity.” The signers, including alumni who are on the faculty at New York University and Baylor University, agreed to “publicly distance” themselves from Vought’s work and “reaffirm our commitment to the Gospel’s radical call to justice, mercy, and humility.”
On Monday (Feb. 17), a second alumni letter appeared, accusing the college of stifling conservative viewpoints, capitulating to “the spirit of our age” and upholding a “DEI regime.” It concludes with a list of demands, including that the college audit “every single faculty and staff member’s commitment to the Statement of Faith and Community Covenant.”
While the clash of alumni can’t be tidily summarized as a division between progressives and conservatives — plenty of conservative Christians oppose recent actions by the Trump administration — the dueling Wheaton letters …