In early February, President Donald Trump announced the creation of an anti-Christian bias task force within the federal government, according to Life News and the Trump administration.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was appointed to lead the initiative, which aims to reduce discrimination against Christians in various government agencies. These agencies include the Department of Justice, Internal Revenue System, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The purpose is to “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government,” Trump said at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Executive Order
Trump signed the “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” executive order last week. “It is the policy of the United States, and the purpose of this order, to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government,” the order states. “The Founders established a Nation in which people were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by their government.”
”For that reason, the United States Constitution enshrines the fundamental right to religious liberty in the First Amendment. Federal laws like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.), further prohibit government interference with Americans’ rights to exercise their religion. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), prohibits religious discrimination in employment while Federal hate-crime laws prohibit offenses committed due to religious animus,” it continues.
The EO comes in backlash to what the Trump administration called ” an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians, while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses” by various government agencies during the previous administration.
The Task Force
The task force will be established within the DOJ, and include the following:
(a) There is hereby established within the Department of Justice the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias (Task Force).
(b) The Attorney General shall serve as Chair of the Task Force.
(c) In addition to the Chair, the Task Force shall consist of the following other members:
(i) the Secretary of State;
(ii) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(iii) the Secretary of Defense;
(iv) the Secretary of Labor;
(v) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(vi) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(vii) the Secretary of Education;
(viii) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
(ix) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(x) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(xi) Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations;
(xii) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration;
(xiii) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(xiv) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;
(xv) the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(xvi) the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and
(xvii) the heads of such other executive departments, agencies, and offices that the Chair may, from time to time, invite to participate.
Task Force Functions
(a) The Task Force shall meet as required by the Chair and shall take appropriate action to:
(i) review the activities of all executive departments and agencies (agencies), including the Department of State, the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, over the previous Administration and identify any unlawful anti-Christian policies, practices, or conduct by an agency contrary to the purpose and policy of this order;
(ii) recommend to the head of the relevant agency steps to revoke or terminate any violative policies, practices, or conduct identified under subsection (3)(a)(i) of this section and remedial actions to fulfill the purpose and policy of this order;
(iii) share information and develop strategies to protect the religious liberties of Americans and advance the purpose and policy of this order;
(iv) solicit information and ideas from a broad range of individuals and groups, including Americans affected by anti-Christian conduct, faith-based organizations, and State, local, and Tribal governments, in order to ensure that its work is informed by a broad spectrum of ideas and experiences;
(v) identify deficiencies in existing laws and enforcement and regulatory practices that have contributed to unlawful anti-Christian governmental or private conduct and recommend to the relevant agency head, or recommend to the President, through the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, as applicable, appropriate actions that agencies may take to remedy failures to fully enforce the law against acts of anti-Christian hostility, vandalism, and violence; and
(vi) recommend to the President, through the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, any additional Presidential or legislative action necessary to rectify past improper anti-Christian conduct, protect religious liberty, or otherwise fulfill the purpose and policy of this order.
(b) In order to advise the President regarding its work and assist the President in formulating future policy, the Task Force shall submit to the President, through the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy:
(i) a report within 120 days from the date of this order regarding the Task Force’s initial work;
(ii) a report within 1 year from the date of this order that summarizes the Task Force’s work; and
(iii) a final report upon the dissolution of the Task Force.
The task force is anticipated to run for two years, unless otherwise extended by the President. The order will stand with all applicable law. “My Administration will ensure that any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated, and rectified,” Trump noted.
