FFRF Action Fund’s “Theocrat of the Week” is Attorney General Pam Bondi for conducting the first meeting of the Trump administration’s “Anti-Christian Bias” task force.
Last week, Bondi convened the inaugural meeting of the so-called “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” Task Force, which was born from an executive order aimed at “[ending] the anti-Christian weaponization of government.” In actuality, the second Trump administration is only using the task force as a means to further distort the principle of religious freedom and give Christianity preferential treatment in the United States.
The task force’s meeting hosted top members of President Trump’s cabinet, many of whom have promoted and supported Christian nationalism, and focused explicitly on expanding protections for Christians. Bondi said the Biden administration had “abused and targeted” Christians and promised to “find and fix” policies that she claims contribute to anti-Christian bias.
In February, Trump said that the task force will “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”
Allegations of “anti-Christian bias” raised at the meeting ranged from denial of religious exemptions for Covid-19 vaccine mandates to efforts to suppress Christian expression in federal schools and agencies to discrimination against faith-based foster care providers. That last allegation is likely referring to Biden’s common-sense protections for LGBTQ-plus minors in the foster care system.
A press release about the meeting indicated that the task force was “joined by peaceful Christian Americans who were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration for their religious beliefs.” These witnesses included Michael Farris, a First Amendment litigator, who discussed the IRS investigation into a Virginia church after its pastor delivered a politically charged sermon that violated the Johnson Amendment.
It is widely known that the Johnson Amendment, a legal provision that prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from engaging in partisan political activity, is rarely enforced, so it’s a wonder that the Virginia church received any kind of investigation at all. Reportedly, the pastor gave a sermon ahead of the 2020 presidential election in which he said: “You don’t have to vote for Trump” but that “a vote for Democratic candidates ran afoul of biblical principles.”
Another witness was Scott Hicks, provost and chief academic officer of Liberty University, who alleged that the Biden administration singled out Liberty and Grand Canyon University for fines “due to the schools’ Christian worldview.” Liberty University was fined $14 million for its numerous violations of the Clery Act, which requires colleges to provide support to sexual assault survivors and create policies to improve on-campus safety. A Navy SEAL relieved of duty during the Biden administration for not getting a Covid-19 vaccine also spoke at the meeting.
“As shown by our victims’ stories today, Biden’s Department of Justice abused and targeted peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses,” professed Bondi at the meeting. “Thanks to President Trump, we have ended those abuses, and we will continue to work closely with every member of this task force to protect every American’s right to speak and worship freely.”
Cabinet members also discussed their agencies at the meeting. Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that State Department employees were stigmatized for refusing to follow vaccine mandates and “for opposing DEI/LGBT ideology that violated their religious conscience.” Rubio professed that employees were “required to push LGBT agendas” while overseas.
In addition, Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins, part of the task force, instructed all VA employees to report perceived instances of “anti-Christian bias” to a dedicated government email account: Anti-ChristianBiasReporting@va.gov. In a department-wide email, Collins indicated that examples of bias include denied accommodation requests, “mistreatment” for displaying Christian symbols and “failure to be promoted for religious reasons.” As many as 11 broad and subjective categories of “bias” were included in the email, including efforts to undermine LGBTQ-plus protections, reproductive health care and vaccine policies.
The Trump administration is using the Bondi-led task force to cement preferential treatment for Christianity in the U.S. government, and Bondi, a well-known Christian nationalist, is thanking him for it. FFRF Action Fund will continue to monitor the findings of this so-called “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” Task Force.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.