Trump

Trump Admin Accomplishments You Might Have Missed

In the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, Southern Seminary president Dr. Al Mohler observed in an interview that Americans were “not just electing a president, you’re electing a government.”

He also opined:

Christian conservatives face big challenges ahead as we try to influence the course of government and the future of our society. There is so much ground that must be gained for the cause of unborn life and the right ordering of society. The election of Kamala Harris as president would almost surely lead to a colossal leftward shift in the laws, in appointments to office, in nominations to the Supreme Court, in LGBTQ activism, and in a flurry of executive orders. I am not sure that such a leftward shift can be undone or corrected in my lifetime, if ever. Both sides recognize how much is on the line in this election, and that’s the simple truth.

Keep in mind that the president will make more than 4,000 direct appointments to high government office, will serve as commander in chief, and will exercise the sole power of nominations to the federal courts, all the way to the Supreme Court. 

Nearly two years out from that statement, Dr. Mohler’s premise is regularly affirmed as we read of various presidential appointments, executive orders, and court decisions. 

Or maybe you haven’t read them. It can be a challenge to find such positive news in the press.

Since President Trump first took office in January 2017, numerous studies have found that the majority of stories involving the president have been negative. In fact, a recent Pew Research survey found that more than 60% of stories published from mainstream media carried a negative assessment compared with 5% that were positive. 

Presidents have historically battled the bent of the media, but even objective observers have noted the current press corps has exhibited an unusual animus towards President Trump – and vice versa.

To help combat the media filter, the White House released on Friday a comprehensive list of “President Trump’s Top 250 Victories For People of Faith.” In introducing the list, administration officials stated, “Since the founding of our nation, nobody has fought harder or gained more for believers …”

Highlights include:

PROTECTED RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

• The Department of Justice issued guidance to all departments and agencies, directing them to protect religious liberty in all programs, policies, and practices.

• President Trump established a new Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias to investigate and dismantle the systematic discrimination against Christians that occurred under the previous Administration.

• The Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias released a report and documentary detailing the Biden Administration’s radical efforts to persecute Christians and highlighting how President Trump is ensuring Christians are free to live out their faith. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services created a Conscience and Religious Freedom Division to defend religious liberty and enforce conscience protections in healthcare.

DEFENDED HOUSES OF WORSHIP 

• The Department of Treasury announced it will issue guidance to protect the religious freedom and free speech of houses of worship in relation to the Johnson Amendment.

• The Department of Justice issued a historic opinion eliminating the “religious restriction” that required houses of worship and faith-based organizations to ban religious aspects of their programs to receive federal funds. 

SECURED CONSCIENCE RIGHTS 

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission agreed to allow Christian employers to conduct their businesses according to their faith, including on issues of pronouns, restrooms, and dress codes.

• The Trump Administration strengthened conscience protections for healthcare providers who object to abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide.

• The Department of Health and Human Services launched investigations into states for allegedly coercing health care entities to pay for abortion coverage.

• The Department of Health and Human Services rescinded Biden-era guidance that could force pharmacists to stock and dispense abortion pills in pharmacies in violation of the  pharmacists’ religious beliefs or conscience. 

ENDED THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT

• President Trump issued an executive order ending the weaponization of the federal government against all Americans, including people of faith. 

• President Trump pardoned Christians and pro-life activists who were unjustly persecuted for praying and peacefully living out their faith.

• The Department of Justice restricted the misuse of the FACE Act against pro-life advocates, dismissing several cases aimed at persecuting pro-life Americans.

PROMOTED FREE SPEECH 

• President Trump issued an executive order combating the debanking of Americans based on their political and religious beliefs, which had been targeted at conservatives and people of faith.

PROTECTED FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS 

• The Office of Management and Budget proposed a new rule protecting religious liberty in grantmaking, clarifying that the federal government may not discriminate against faith-based organizations because of their religious character, affiliation, or exercise.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development rescinded guidance which required Christian colleges to violate their religious beliefs by opening co-ed dormitories.

• The Department of Justice filed briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court supporting tax exemptions for religious groups, religious charter schools, and a Catholic preschool’s right to be included in a benefit program available to secular preschools.  

EXPANDED SCHOOL CHOICE & PROMOTED WHOLESOME EDUCATION

• President Trump issued an executive order on school choice, supporting parents’ rights to choose private, religious, or public charter schools for their children.

• President Trump signed the first-ever national school choice program, empowering parents to choose faith-based schools for their children and ending the monopoly of government-run education.

• President Trump issued an executive order ending radical indoctrination in schools.

• President Trump reinstated common sense school discipline policies.

• The Department of Education ended the Biden book ban hoax, ensuring parents can protect their children from books espousing radical secular ideologies such as transgenderism and gender fluidity.

UPHELD PARENTAL RIGHTS

• The Department of Justice issued a memo pledging to uphold parental rights and supported parental rights at the U.S. Supreme Court.

• The Department of Health and Human Services warned states not to remove the children of parents who refuse to capitulate to radical transgender ideology.

• The Department of Education ordered schools to allow parents to inspect and review education records, including those related to their children’s “gender identity.” 

• The Department of Education cracked down on school districts violating federal law by hiding students’ “gender transitions” from parents.

SAVED WOMEN’S SPORTS 

• President Trump issued an executive order keeping men out of women’s sports.

• The Department of Health and Human Services upheld biological truth by announcing that references to “sex” in Title IX will no longer also refer to “gender identity.”

• The Department of Justice and Department of Education announced a Title IX Special Investigations Team to protect students, especially female athletes, from radical gender ideology in school programs and activities. 

PROTECTED CHILDREN FROM HARMFUL PROCEDURES AND IDEOLOGY 

• President Trump banned federal funding for the chemical and surgical mutilation of minors, protecting children from irreversible harm, followed by a final rule implementing his order.

• The Department of Justice supported the right of states to ban sex-rejecting drugs for minors at the U.S. Supreme Court. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services issued a report highlighting the “significant harms” of gender transition drugs and procedures for minors.  

RESTORED BIOLOGICAL TRUTH 

• President Trump issued an executive order restoring biological truth to the federal government and affirming the reality that there are only two sexes, male and female. 

• President Trump called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act to affirm biological reality, protect women’s sports, and prohibit sex-rejecting surgeries on children.

• President Trump issued a new counterterrorism strategy to protect America from the threats of “radically pro-transgender” ideology. 

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development took action to ensure homeless shelters are not required to house men in facilities intended for women only. 

• The Trump Administration axed billions of dollars in grants that had been used by states to perpetuate radical gender ideology and related propaganda.

STRENGTHENED FAMILIES AND SAFEGUARDED CHILDREN

• President Trump issued an executive order on foster care – a key initiative of First Lady Melania Trump – maximizing partnerships with Americans of faith and seeking to remedy state policies that prohibit qualified people or organizations from serving in foster care due to their religious beliefs.

• The Department of Health and Human Services formally rescinded a Biden-era rule that forced foster parents to choose between their religious beliefs and fostering children.

• The Administration for Children and Families defended religious foster parents by warning multiple states that gender ideology mandates that deny qualified families the ability to provide loving homes to foster children violate the First Amendment.

• As a result of the Trump Administration’s actions to protect religious foster parents, some states have immediately changed their policies to welcome faith-based families in foster care. 

• President Trump signed the Take It Down Act – a key initiative of First Lady Melania Trump – protecting children and families from online extortion and exploitation through the non-consensual distribution of intimate images and deepfake abuse.

DEFENDED LIFE THROUGH YOUR TAX DOLLARS 

• President Trump mandated enforcement of the Hyde Amendment, ending the use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion in America. 

• President Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy, ending the use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund nongovernmental organizations that perform or promote coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization internationally.

• The Department of Justice supported states’ rights to defund abortion clinics. 

VALUED LIFE 

• President Trump celebrated Down Syndrome Awareness Month, telling Down Syndrome children they are “amazing.”

• The White House issued a statement of support for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

• The Department of Health and Human Services announced that funds from new Title X grants may not be used to perform abortions and plans to issue new Title X regulations that align with the law and administration priorities. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services restored Title X funding that the Biden Administration had stripped from states due to the states’ pro-life policies. 

• The Trump Administration ended the barbaric use of fetal tissue from aborted babies in federally funded research at the National Institutes of Health.

EMPOWERED & SUPPORTED MOTHERS 

• The Trump Administration provided $4 million to address root causes of infertility and expand access to testing and treatments that will help families have children.

• President Trump ensured the Working Families Tax Cuts Act included pro-family measures such as a Child Tax Credit expansion, strengthened adoption tax credits, permanent tax credits for paid family and medical leave, and Trump Investment Accounts for every American newborn.

And those are just 52 of the 250 things detailed on the list.

At Focus on the Family, we care about policies because policies impact people — husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, children and grandchildren. Bad policies have dire consequences. Good policies have the potential to improve life and allow families to thrive. 

The prophet Jeremiah urged, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you … and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (29:7). 

As Christians who seek the welfare of our neighbors, we care deeply about the policies that shape their lives — and must be willing to speak up when we believe those policies will help families flourish.

President Trump Outpacing First Term in Confirmed Judge Picks

President Donald J. Trump’s picks for federal judgeships are being confirmed at a faster clip in his second term compared to his first.

Article III of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government, made up of one U.S. Supreme Court and “such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”

Congress has created 13 federal courts of appeals along with 94 lower district courts. While the Supreme Court has the final word in deciding cases and controversies, our nation’s other courts – particularly the 13 appeals courts – are vitally important to our nation’s judicial system.

The Supreme Court receives roughly 7,000 requests to hear cases each year; it accepts around 1% of them, leaving the other 99% to be decided by the lower courts.

The Constitution’s appointments clause grants the president the power to appoint federal judges. The Senate provides “advice and consent” on each nominee.

Upon confirmation, judges are granted a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, meaning they can serve far longer than a president’s time in office. This makes the president’s job of selecting and nominating federal judges extremely important.

In his first term, President Trump nominated three Supreme Court justices: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. He also nominated 54 judges to serve on our nation’s federal appellate courts and 174 federal district judges.

In his second term, the U.S. Senate has confirmed 10 of the president’s nominees for the 13 federal appellate courts. Two more are awaiting confirmation.

Most recently, on July 23, the Senate confirmed Judge Daniel Traynor, previously a federal district judge, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, one of the nation’s most conservative federal appellate courts.

In announcing his appointment of Traynor to the court in May, President Trump said he “has issued courageous decisions, and blocked illegal Federal Government actions under the previous Administration.”

President Trump also recently gained a chance to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit after Judge Kurt Engelhardt, who has served on the court since 2018, announced his intention to take senior status, a form of semi-retirement, upon the confirmation of his successor. The president has nominated Anna St. John for the seat.

The Senate has also confirmed 42 of President Trump’s district court nominees since January 20, 2025.

Overall, Senate Republicans have confirmed the president’s judicial picks at a faster clip than Trump’s first term.

“As chairman, I’ve ensured efficient consideration of nominations and under my leadership this Congress we’re processing judicial nominations at a historic pace,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.

“In fact, if you look at the time between nomination and confirmation, we’ve advanced and confirmed Article III judges faster than at any time since Ronald Reagan’s presidency.”

Photo Credit: Brookings Institution

According to the left-leaning Brookings Institution, “Nearly 1 in 3 full-time lower-court federal judges are Trump appointees, due largely to his near-record number of first term confirmations.”

However, given a much lower level of judicial vacancies, Brookings expects the confirmation of new judges to slow. The district and appellate courts now have only 30 vacancies compared to 92 vacancies in July 2018.

Federal judges confirmed today could serve for 30 or 40 years. Each judge’s judicial philosophy matters greatly to how they might rule on issues of life, religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, the protection of girls sports and more.

As we’ve written previously, “Focus on the Family believes that the judicial system plays a vital role in our government, our families and society in general. … The federal judicial system set up by the Founders held up the ideal of limited judicial authority: Judges should stick to offering ‘judgment’ and exercising ‘neither force nor will.’”

Our nation needs more judges today who understand their job is to say what the law is, not what they would like it to be.

As former Justice Antonin Scalia said, “A judge must be, above all else, a servant of the law – and not an enforcer of his personal predilections – about the issues that come before him. The good judge must suppress his personal views and must decide each case as the law dictates, not as he would have resolved the matter if he had drafted the law or the constitutional provision at issue.”

In our constitutional system, the people – not unelected, unaccountable federal judges – get to determine what the law is through their lawfully elected representatives. That’s what it means to have a nation that is of, by and for the people.

Related articles and resources:

US Supreme Court Ends Judicial Tyranny: No More ‘Universal Injunctions’

Judicial Tyranny: Solutions to the Problem of Rogue Federal Judges

Trump Victory Likely Cements Conservative Supreme Court for Decades to Come

Why Elections Matter – The Judicial Impact

Judicial Philosophy

Photo from Getty Images.

DOJ Releases Guidance Strengthening Religious Liberty Protections

The U.S. Department of Justice released updated guidance strengthening federal protections for religious liberty.

The DOJ’s updated memorandum, released on July 23, revises and expands the department’s 2017 Religious Liberty Guidelines in light of significant developments over the last nine years.

“Religious liberty is one of our Nation’s founding principles and a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press release.

“It is essential that federal agencies fully respect and protect the ability of all Americans to live out their faith in daily life, including in their interactions with the federal government.”

The DOJ’s updates in the guidance include:

  • Integration of recent Supreme Court precedent. Recent court decisions clarify the scope of the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA’s) broad protection of religious liberty, and the requirement of equal treatment towards religious organizations in government programs.
  • Protection of parental rights. The Supreme Court’s recent precedents confirm the Constitution protects parents’ right to direct the upbringing of their children.
  • Reaffirmation of church autonomy. Constitutional protections bar government interference in internal religious governance, including employment.
  • Expanded direction for federal agencies. Agencies must consider religious-liberty impacts when developing rules and policies.
  • Clarified protections in federal employment. Agencies must follow recent Office of Legal Counsel opinions when accommodating religious expression and practice in the workplace.
  • Safeguards for religious organizations in federal contracting and grant programs. Agencies may not condition an individual’s participation in federal programs on relinquishing their religious character or hiring rights. Religious organizations must be permitted to compete on equal footing with secular organizations.

“The new religious liberty guidance instructs agencies on how to protect one of our most fundamental constitutional guarantees: religious liberty,” said Assistant Attorney General Dan Burrows for the DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy.

“It helps ensure that federal actions do not discriminate on the basis of religion and furthers the protection of both individual practitioners and religious organizations.”

This isn’t the first action the Trump administration has taken to protect religious liberty. On May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission which was tasked with “safeguarding and promoting America’s founding principle of religious freedom.”

Members of the commission included Reverend Franklin Graham, Dr. Ben Carson, New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Bishop Robert Barron, Kristen Waggoner, Kelly Shackelford, Ryan Anderson, Alveda King and others.

Days before our nation’s 250th anniversary, the commission released its final 224-page report including specific policy recommendations to safeguard our nation’s first freedom.

It was one of our nation’s foremost founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, who said, “Remember civil and religious liberty always go together, if the foundation of the one be sapped, the other will fall of course.”

The Trump administration deserves great credit for prioritizing religious freedom and taking concrete steps to secure one of our most important liberties.

Related articles and resources:

The Truth About Religious Freedom and Free Speech

Faith, Freedom, and the Future of America

Optimism, Faith and Freedom in America

Religious Freedom is Not a Problem to Be Managed

Photo from Getty Images.

DOJ Settles With Pro-Life Activist Paul Vaughn Over Unjust Prosecution

Pro-life activist Paul Vaughn reached a seven-figure settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over his unjust arrest and prosecution.

Multiple heavily armed FBI agents arrested Vaughn at the family’s Tennessee farmhouse on October 5, 2022. The agents took Vaughn away in front of his wife and their seven children, including their 18-month-old.

The DOJ charged the Christian father and 10 others with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for peacefully protesting at an abortion clinic in Nashville, where they prayed and sang worship songs. Seven of the protesters were also charged with “conspiracy against rights.”

Vaughn faced up to 11 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was eventually found guilty and sentenced to three years supervised release.

The Biden administration’s jihad against pro-life supporters shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

On the same day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ “strongly disagree[d]” with the Court’s decision, calling it a “devastating blow to reproductive freedom.”

“The Justice Department will work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom,” Garland said, citing the FACE Act as a tool to “protect healthcare providers and individuals seeking reproductive health services.”

After Garland’s speech, the DOJ brought 24 FACE Act cases against 55 defendants, 22 of which were brought against peaceful pro-life supporters.

The Biden DOJ essentially ignored the 400 violent attacks on pregnancy resource centers and churches despite the fact the FACE Act also makes it illegal to interfere with people seeking to exercise religious freedom at their places of worship.

Thankfully, President Donald J. Trump pardoned Vaughn and 22 other peaceful pro-life protesters on January 23, 2025, the day before the national March for Life.

“Twenty-three people were prosecuted. They should not have been prosecuted,” the president remarked at the time. “Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.”

Vaughn, now father of 11 children, brought legal action against the DOJ for his unjust arrest and prosecution; he was pardoned while his case was on appeal. Now, a settlement has been reached with the Trump DOJ.

According to the Thomas More Society, which represents Vaughn, the settlement represents an admission that “the Biden DOJ’s and FBI’s actions were an abuse of government powers.”

“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened. But today brings an end to this portion of the story,” Vaughn said in a statement.

“I am grateful to the members of this Department of Justice who were willing to look honestly at what the prior administration did to our family and so many others and attempt to make it right.”

Vaughn added,

I am grateful to President Trump for the pardon that restored my good name, Thomas More Society for their tireless defense, and the countless people who stood with us in prayer.
This chapter is finally closed, and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear.

Vaughn’s story serves as a reminder that elections have consequences, and that doing what is right isn’t always easy. It may well involve trials and persecutions – even in the United States of America.

We should all be grateful for Vaughn’s courageous pro-life witness and be just as willing to accept difficulties and trials in our continued fight for life.

Related articles and resources:

House Advances Bill to Repeal Law Weaponized Against Pro-Lifers

President Trump Pardons 23 Peaceful Pro-Life Protesters

Six Pro-Life Supporters Found Guilty, Face 11 Years in Prison for Peaceful Abortion Clinic Protest

Photo from Thomas More Society.

Religious Freedom is Not a Problem to Be Managed 

In the ramp up to the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, you might have missed the recent release of the Religious Liberty Commission’s final 224-page report.

Established back on May 1, 2025, via executive order by President Donald Trump, the group began its work with a simple but foundationally sound premise:

“Religious liberty is essential because religion itself is indispensable to a flourishing society.”

The commission was chaired by Dan Patrick, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and he was joined by individuals representing a broad and diverse spectrum of faith: Dr. Ben Carson, Reverend Franklin Graham, Dr. Ryan Anderson, Bishop Robert Barron, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Eric Metaxas, Mrs. Allyson Ho, Dr. Phil McGraw, Kelly Shackelford, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and Pastor Paula White-Cain.

Dozens of other individuals served as advisory board members and legal experts.

Throughout the past 14 months, the commission met in-person seven times and worked tirelessly throughout the process to review, examine, identify and make practical and actionable recommendations to the President regarding the overall health of America’s first principles.

In the final report, the group shared they had identified a common and disturbing theme that those of us within the social conservative and faith-based space have long warned about.

The commission concluded:

Far too often in our national life, religion is treated not as a protected and valued contribution to public life, but as a problem or annoyance to be managed, restricted, or sidelined.

Those who either scoff at or dismiss this succinct warning may suffer from either a bad or selective memory, or may simply choose to ignore scores of related court battles and victories right up to the United States Supreme Court.

Since 2018 alone, you’ve had to keep a scorecard to keep up with the many legal battles. Nearly all of them have stemmed from aggressive secular progressives attempting to roll back First Amendment rights.

From Jack Phillips and the Masterpiece Cakeshop here in Colorado, to the Little Sisters of the Poor, Coach Kennedy, battles over the rights of faith-based foster agencies, and Christian schools getting squeezed out from participating in state-supported tuition reimbursement programs, the High Court has consistently reaffirmed the constitutionality of America’s religious freedoms.

“We believe that safeguarding religious liberty requires more than defending legal rights after they have been violated,” stated members of the commission. “It requires cultivating a culture that understands why those rights exist in the first place.”

Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen exists to provide that very service to readers and friends of the ministry.

Included in the fulsome report are dozens of practical recommendations, organized under various categories. You can read the full slate of them, but here are some highlights:

For Religious Leaders, Institutions, and Houses of Worship:

• Issue guidance to ensure the Johnson Amendment is not applied to chill religious leaders’ First Amendment right to provide religious guidance to their communities.

For Education:

• Ensure the constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and parental rights are enjoyed by families of all socioeconomic means by promoting a robust and universal system of school choice where funding follows the child. 

• Encourage agencies to take proactive measures to defend public school students’ rights to exercise their faith, such as creating hotlines or portals through which students can report violations and increasing public awareness of existing reporting channels. 

• Defend teachers’ and faculty’s rights in public-run schools by creating a hotline/portal to report violations. 

For Parents:

• Ensure the constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and parental rights are enjoyed by families of all socio-economic means by promoting a robust and universal system of school choice where funding follows the child. 

• Defend parental rights in government-run schools by issuing Department of Justice guidance on parental rights. 

For Religious Healthcare Workers and Institutions:

• Protect religious healthcare workers from being coerced to participate in procedures that violate their religious beliefs by expanding the coverage of the Church Amendments and providing a private right of action for violations.

For Business:

• Support legislation to codify protections for religious organizations against debanking. 

• Order the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to create “Know Your Rights” resources to protect private sector employees from religious discrimination.

The commission also rightly addressed the so-called “wall of separation between Church and State” that has been so badly misinterpreted for decades, particularly by progressives and those eager to excise all public expressions of faith. The report notes the concept of the mythical barrier originated from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote and it can be found nowhere in the First Amendment.

“[The] belabored metaphor—often used out of context—cannot support the view that the aim of the First Amendment was to exile the practice of religion from public life. And no Founding document supports that conclusion either.”

In addition to specific recommendations designed to protect specific areas and industries, the Commission’s report also provided a dozen more for every American:

1. Instruct the Department of Justice to issue guidance clarifying the proper understanding of the Establishment Clause and separation of church and state. 

2. The Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall issue “Know Your Rights” Posters and FAQ’s for students, parents, public school teachers and administrators, religious leaders, religious institutions, healthcare workers, and military service members.

3. Any public official who alleges a person under their supervision has improperly engaged in religious expression must provide a written explanation of the alleged violation to the person accused within 30 days of any action and explain that charge based upon a specific constitutional provision or provision of law. 

4. Instruct the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to explore opportunities to create religious liberty violation reporting hotlines/online portals for students, parents, teachers, healthcare workers, and others to obtain support in the face of religious liberty violations and increase public awareness of existing reporting channels. 

5. Nominate and confirm federal judges with the courage to decide religious liberty cases on the merits where warranted, rather than engage in improper judicial avoidance. 

6. Ask the Department of Justice to create a religious liberty task force to track and prioritize litigation protecting religious liberty. 

7. Combat anti-Semitism through enforcement of civil rights laws, litigation of credible allegations of anti-Semitic discrimination and violence, and civic education. 

8. Protect religious Americans from government-led litigation targeting their free exercise.  

9. Repeal the Johnson Amendment which purports to give the government authority to regulate religious leaders’ sermons and spiritual guidance to their communities. 

10. Order the Department of War to streamline and improve the religious accommodation process. 

11. Continue efforts to restore the retirement or re-enlistment eligibility of service members who lost employment, health insurance, pensions, and other benefits because of their religious beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine. 

12. Honor the courage of religious liberty heroes through creating a Presidential Medal of Religious Liberty and First Freedom Hero Awards to recognize Americans who stand up for religious freedom and play an indispensable role in protecting citizens’ Constitutional rights.

We’re grateful for the seriousness and earnestness with which President Trump and the members of the commission have approached this critical work designed to preserve and protect America’s religious freedoms. Indeed, America’s true strength comes not from its military muscle or government largesse. Instead, it stems from the nation’s Judeo-Christian roots and the individual and collective faith of its citizens. Our ongoing prayers and the implementation of these recommendations will serve to help preserve the hard-fought religious liberties that are an American hallmark.