Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 23, 2025 / 17:26 pm (CNA).
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) hosted the inaugural meeting this week of a new task force to counter anti-Christian bias in federal government policies, regulations, and practices.
“Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said ahead of the meeting. “It’s upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise [in the First Amendment].”
The task force’s first meeting on Tuesday was closed to the public and the media but included the heads of multiple federal departments and agencies along with witnesses who provided testimony on anti-Christian bias within the federal government.
President Donald Trump formally established the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias on Feb. 6 by executive order. His order commissioned a comprehensive review of federal departments and agencies, particularly to reverse certain actions of the previous administration.
Specific concerns of anti-Christian bias
A news release following the meeting detailed some of the concerns and policies administration officials are reviewing.
One Catholic-specific concern discussed in the meeting was the since-retracted January 2023 memo from the Richmond Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which detailed an investigation into supposed ties between “radical traditionalist” Catholics and “the far-right white nationalist movement.”
The document called for “trip wire or source development” within Catholic parishes that offer the Traditional Latin Mass and within online Catholic communities. Later revelations from the House Judiciary Committee found that the Richmond FBI used at least one undercover agent to obtain information on traditionalist Catholics and coordinated with other FBI field offices on the matter.
According to an April 22 news release after the task force meeting, Trump’s FBI director, Kash Patel, discussed “the impact of the anti-Catholic memo” during the gathering and “reiterated the FBI’s commitment to rooting out any anti-Christian bias that could be directing decisions or investigations.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the news release notes, brought up concerns about bias against a Christian Foreign Service Officer who “was threatened with an investigation for child abuse” for insisting on home-schooling his child.
According to the news release, Rubio also expressed disapproval of the Department of State stigmatizing workers who opposed the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds and retaliation against employees for “opposing DEI/LGBT ideology.”
For her part, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon discussed concerns about gender ideology in education policies and school districts socially transitioning children without their parents’ knowledge.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender voiced concerns about the Biden administration removing certain tax classifications from Christian and pro-life organizations and objections to debanking.
Michael Farris, an attorney and founder of Patrick Henry College, was one of the witnesses. Farris called attention to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigating and charging Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel for alleged Johnson Amendment violations.
Phil Mendes, a U.S. Navy Seal, spoke about how he was relieved of his duty under the Biden administration for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
CNA reached out to the DOJ and FBI for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
“As shown by our victims’ stories today, Biden’s Department of Justice abused and targeted peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses,” Bondi said in a statement after 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.”
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