Wire report

Crowds pack into Washington's National Mall for prayer rally

President Donald Trump was expected to address the gathering, which got underway as a light rain fell, in a video message. Other top Republicans, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were also on the schedule as part of the celebrations this year marking 250 years of U.S. independence.

Crowds pack into Washington's National Mall for prayer rally
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President Donald Trump was expected to address the gathering, which got underway as a light rain fell, in a video message. Other top Republicans, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were also on the schedule as part of the celebrations this year marking 250 years of U.S. independence.

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What happened

According to PBS News’s linked item, Crowds pack into Washington’s National Mall for prayer rally, President Donald Trump was expected to address the gathering, which got underway as a light rain fell, in a video message. Other top Republicans, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were also on the schedule as part of the celebrations this year marking 250 years of U.S. independence.

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The development sits in VINI’s News coverage for readers following public-interest developments across VINI coverage areas. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked item is dated 2026-05-17T16:55:42+00:00.

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Primary source: Crowds pack into Washington’s National Mall for prayer rally via PBS News. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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