Painting previously displayed at Merchant Marine Academy.

Midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy erupted in raucous applause last week when Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy called for a painting of Jesus to be brought up from the flood-prone basement where it was placed during the Biden administration.

Multiple midshipmen at the federal service academy in Kings Point, New York, spoke to The Christian Post and said how much the painting means to them.

During remarks made at its annual Battle Standard Dinner on April 3, Duffy promised to “work my a– off” to ensure the increasingly dilapidated school would receive adequate funding, but drew the most vocal response when he asked for the Jesus painting to be restored.