Trump Religious Liberty Commission questions separation of church and state
The Trump Religious Liberty Commission sparked a debate over church and state during its final hearing in Washington, D.C.
A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit that asked the court to declare President Donald Trump’s Religious Freedom Commission to be illegally lacking in diversity by having only Christian and Jewish members.
Interfaith Alliance, Muslims for Progressive Values, Sikh Americans Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Hindus for Human Rights, an interfaith group, sued the administration in February, alleging an illegal lack of religious and ideological diversity on the commission. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and Democracy Forward represented the groups in the lawsuit.
The group also accused the commission of ignoring “fundamental transparency requirements” that would allow the public to “follow and understand the commission’s activities.” In late April, the administration notified the court that it had released the committee’s records, including its minutes, meeting minutes, and hearing recommendations. Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said at the time that the files “only confirm what we all recognize is a fatal flaw at the core of this commission: its Christian nationalist bias.”
The administration rejected such an idea. Following the lawsuit’s dismissal, White House press secretary Taylor Rogers said in a statement to USA TODAY on July 28 that the lawsuit was “meritless and a poor attempt to thwart the Trump administration’s efforts to advance religious freedom.”
“The important work of the Commission on Religious Liberty will continue, and President Trump will always vigorously defend religious freedom for all Americans,” Rogers said.
Laser said the group behind the lawsuit was “disappointed” by the dismissal and “respectfully and strongly disagree that the members of the Religious Freedom Commission represent a fair and balanced view.”
“We are considering next steps with our co-counsel and the plaintiffs,” she said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The judge said the fees were fairly balanced and the records were public.
President Trump established the commission through an executive order in May 2025. The commission was tasked with issuing a report on the history and current status of religious freedom in the country by July 4, 2026.
This group included Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, but did not include Muslims or members of other religious minorities. The February lawsuit accused committee members of imposing “the view that America is a ‘Judeo-Christian’ nation with limited, if any, ability to instill religious values in government.”
The lawsuit pointed to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires such groups to have a “fair balance in the viewpoints represented.”
U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan, who was appointed by President Trump in 2020, wrote in a July 27 opinion that the law does not clearly define what constitutes a “fair balance” and that courts have historically been “very respectful” in considering the composition of the commission.
“Under this standard of respect, RLC’s membership is fairly balanced,” Cronan wrote. “Its members include workers in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, with a wide variety of life experiences, from a former host of a popular television show to a state lieutenant governor, religious leaders and laypeople, and, to a significant extent, members of at least five different religions.”
In response to the plaintiffs’ argument that only having Christian and Jewish commissioners was illegal, Cronan said the religious beliefs of the commissioners were “irrelevant to the functioning of the commission.” He also objected to “the assumption that there is a single ‘Judeo-Christian’ perspective.”
“Given the wide diversity of Christian and Jewish faiths, there is no reason to think that evangelical members will be more ‘balanced’ with Catholic members than with Buddhist members,” Cronan’s opinion said.
He also rejected the multifaith group’s arguments regarding transparency requirements, saying the law does not set a deadline for releasing records.
“Therefore, the commission’s failure to release documents while its work is in progress does not violate FACA,” Cronan said.
A spokesperson for the committee told USA TODAY that the organization is “pleased with the dismissal of the lawsuit and remains focused on our important work promoting religious freedom.”
Breanna Frank is USA TODAY’s First Amendment reporter. please contact her bjfrank@usatoday.com.
USA TODAY’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded by the Freedom Forum in collaboration with our journalism funding partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
