Huffman, Colleagues Oppose Trump’s Crusade Against Free Speech and Religious Freedom
Members of Congress Demand Trump Administration End Campaign of Ideological Surveillance
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressional Freethought Caucus Co-Chairs Jared Huffman (CA-02) and Jamie Raskin (MD-08) led their colleagues in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi and other agency heads expressing concerns regarding the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias.
The letter raises concerns that the Task Force threatens religious freedom, suppressesfree speech, purges political opponents, and promotes discrimination under the guise of defending religious liberty – essentially using the eradication of “anti-Christian bias” as a pretext to suppress, intimidate, and purge religious minorities, nonbelievers, LGBTQ+ people, political opponents, and other marginalized communities.
“Protecting true religious freedom for Christians and everyone else is a core American value. That is why the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, in addition to guaranteeing the free exercise of religion, forbids the government from establishing any religion, favoring one faith over others, or preferring religious belief over non-belief. The premise of your Task Force – President Trump’s claim that government is somehow being “weaponized” against Christians – simply strains credulity. As you are surely aware, Christians comprise 67% of America’s population, 87% of the Congress, and nearly theentire Trump administration. The longstanding social, cultural and political predominance of Christians in this country, including in our government, is beyond serious debate. Yet you are presiding over a powerful group of Christians seemingly bent on providing special protections and favoritism for Christians,”the lawmakers wrote.
“Under the guise of defending religious liberty, your Task Force is on a collision course with church-state separation and true religious freedom, which includes the right to not be a Christian,” the lawmakers continued. “Our government is not the guardian of Christianity; it is and must always be the neutral guarantor of religious liberty for all. By its exclusive charge to address alleged bias against Christians, your Task Force disregards the problem of religious discrimination and coercion faced by religious minorities and nonreligious individuals while reinforcing a narrative that Christians have special status.”
“[The] directive for employees to anonymously report colleagues based on subjective criteria and without clear procedural safeguards raises the specter of ideological surveillance. It threatens to suppress open dialogue and fosters a workplace environment where personal beliefs are policed and punished, particularly against those who are not members of the Christian majority. It is reminiscent of the Red Scare and the Lavender Scare that previously swept through federal agencies, and it mirrors the practices of authoritarian regimes that promote fear and suppress individual freedoms. This dystopic secretarial directive flouts our secular Constitution, and it poses a serious threat to true religious liberty,” the lawmakers added.
This letter follows reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, and other agency heads have directed federal employees toanonymously report colleagues for incidents including displaying pride flags or non-Christian symbols, promoting or participating in diversity initiatives, and requestingpreferred pronouns.
In addition to Reps. Huffman and Raskin, the letter was signed by Congressional Freethought Caucus Members Sean Casten, Pramila Jayapal, Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr., Eleanor Holmes Norton, Emily Randall, Andrea Salinas, and Becca Balint. The Congressional Freethought Caucus is an interfaith group of Members dedicated to advocating for religious freedom, church-state separation, and public policies based on science and reason.
Read the full letter here.
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