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U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. / Credit: fisheradam13/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 10, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made a splash at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point, New York, during a speech last week when he called for a painting of Jesus to be brought up from the flood-prone basement of a building on academy grounds, where it has been held since the Biden administration.

Midshipmen broke out into loud and prolonged applause after Duffy, a practicing Catholic, in his April 3 speech called for the beloved painting to be restored, saying: "Can we bring Jesus up from the basement? Let's not put Jesus in the basement! Let's get him out! Let's bring him up!"

The enthusiastic response prompted a surprised reaction from Duffy, who remarked: "You want Jesus up from the basement? All right, great!" 

"That was the loudest applause we got," he added. 

Painted in 1944 by U.S. Maritime Service Lt. Hunter Wood, "Christ on the Water" depicts Jesus walking on water and merchant seamen floating adrift in a lifeboat after their ship is torpedoed. According to the USMMA website, Wood used sail canvas, marine paints, and spar varnish to paint the artwork, also known as "Jesus and Lifeboat." 

A white curtain was hung in front of the 10-by-19-foot painting in January 2023 after the founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), Michael Weinstein, demanded that USMMA superintendent Vice Admiral Joanna Nunan remove the "massive sectarian painting illustrating the supremacy of Jesus Christ" from its place in a frequently-used meeting room in an administrative building at the academy, according to a report from the Christian Post. 

"The outrageousness of that Jesus painting's display is only further exacerbated by the fact that this room is also used regularly for USMMA honor code violation boards, where midshipmen are literally fighting for their careers, and, often even more, as they face the shameful ignominy of potential expulsion with prejudice if found guilty of USMMA honor code violations," Weinstein added. 

The painting was later moved to the basement of the academy's chapel, which Fox Digital reported was "prone to flooding." 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana; and others sent letters and petitions at the time to Nunan to protest the move. 

"Under the Supreme Court's standard for long-standing government displays, the painting is perfectly in keeping with the establishment clause [of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution]," Cruz wrote in a statement on Feb. 21, 2023.

He continued: "Your decision to move it, and to discontinue use of the conference room it presently is located in, is regrettable and suggests you believe a painting that tens of thousands of midshipmen, faculty, staff, and visitors have viewed for more than half a century is now suddenly unconstitutional."

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