TOPEKA, Kan. _ Gov. Sam Brownback defended his call Tuesday for Kansans to fast and pray on his last full day in office before leaving for a job in the Trump administration.
He confirmed he was indeed fasting Tuesday.
"People have differing opinions and that's fine," Brownback said. "That's fine. We as a country have done, presidents for years have called for prayer and fasting. This is historically what we've done. It's a nation whose motto is "In God We Trust." That doesn't mean everybody views it that way."
Brownback had put out a proclamation earlier with the request. He is expected to resign at 3 p.m. Wednesday before becoming President Donald Trump's ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
"President George Washington, in his 1795 Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving called on Americans 'to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience,' " Brownback said in the earlier proclamation.
"I personally feel blessed by the time I have spent serving our great state and would like to observe a time of prayer and fasting before God takes me on to the next part of my journey. I invite all Kansans to join me as we pray for our state and our nation."
The proclamation quickly went viral, with some criticism made towards the outgoing Kansas Republican who has remained one of the most unpopular governors in the country during his final days in Topeka.
"Different people have different attitudes," Brownback said. "That's fine."
