(The Lion) — President Donald Trump’s “Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias” in the federal government promised in its inaugural meeting this week to restore religious liberty after the Biden administration “abused and targeted” Christians.
“The Biden administration engaged in an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians while ignoring violent anti-Christian offenses,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said as she opened the meeting, which was attended by members of the president’s Cabinet. “Pro-life Christians were arrested and imprisoned for peacefully praying outside abortion clinics. The FBI spied on traditional Catholics in their parishes. President Biden declared Easter Sunday to be Transgender Day of Visibility. No longer.”
Established by an executive order from Trump, the task force aims to identify and abolish illegal anti-Christian policies across the government, seek input from faith groups and state governments to end anti-Christian bias, and address regulatory practices that contribute to religious bias, Bondi said.
The Biden administration sparked national outrage by weaponizing a federal law called the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act – or the FACE Act – against pro-life protesters. After taking office in January, Trump pardoned 23 pro-lifers arrested for FACE Act violations. But now, the Justice Department has “redefined the FACE Act to ensure that abuse would not continue and that American tax dollars were not used to support the weaponization of our legal system to target Christians,” Bondi said.
Citing incidents of vandalism against churches that spiked during the Biden administration and often went unpunished, Bondi said such persecution will no longer be tolerated.
“Just a few weeks ago, we convicted a man in Arizona for a plot to bomb Christian churches. The Department of Justice will protect religious liberty for Christians and for all Americans,” she said. “Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism, it’s upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche echoed Bondi, citing “troubling signs” over the past few years that “suggest an underlying bias against people of faith, particularly Christians” from the federal government.
“This task force was created to make sure this never happens again in America,” he said. “We will investigate what went wrong, uncover facts, and ultimately chart a path forward.”
Witnesses at the inaugural meeting included Phil Mendes, a Navy SEAL who was relieved of duty after refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine and was denied a religious exemption. Liberty University’s provost, Scott Hicks, told the task force about how Liberty University and Patrick Henry College were targeted by fines under the Biden administration “due to the schools’ Christian worldview.”
Trump’s Cabinet members also discussed various examples of Christian bias at their agencies under the previous administration. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said two Oregon educators were terminated for starting a movement called “I Resolve,” which related to gender identity and how to teach without violating parental rights. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussed how the Biden administration put rules in place to make it harder for Christian parents to foster children.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that under the Biden administration, Christian Foreign Service Officers were threatened for preferring to homeschool their children. State Department employees who opposed the COVID vaccine for religious reasons were called “murderers,” employees were pressured to push “LGBT agendas” overseas and Christian holidays were stripped of religious overtones.
“It is past time to end the anti-Christian weaponization of the government started by the last administration!” Bondi wrote on X following the hearing.
