A presidential memo is directing federal agencies to repeal regulations that are unlawful under several landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
The administration cited First Liberty’s precedent-setting victory in our Treat Children Fairly case, Carson v. Makin, in which the Court held that states are prohibited from discriminating against parents who send their children to religious schools. In Carson, the nation’s highest court set a precedent that religious discrimination will not be tolerated.
Since it was handed down in 2022, the ruling has made a tremendous difference for millions of parents and families across the country, providing them with renewed legal protection to choose the best education for their kids without fearing retribution from the government.
In addition to protecting religious liberty, parental rights and ending decades of discrimination, the ruling made clear that the government must treat all religious people and organizations fairly and equally to their secular counterparts.
“In recent years, the Supreme Court has issued a series of decisions that recognize appropriate constitutional boundaries on the power of unelected bureaucrats and that restore checks on unlawful agency actions,” President Trump wrote in his order. “Yet, despite these critical course corrections, unlawful regulations—often promulgated in reliance on now-superseded Supreme Court decisions—remain on the books.”
The White House notes that its review-and-repeal directive is part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s deregulatory initiative and a commitment “to restore fidelity to the Constitution.”
For four years, the previous administration showed a particular disdain for the religious beliefs of Americans. It issued a litany of discriminatory policies that forced people of faith, ministries and houses of worship to violate their sincerely held beliefs and conform to radical ideology.
Federal agencies and departments were previously weaponized to trample religious liberty. The prior administration rolled back protections for health care professionals and hospitals. It also attacked religious colleges and schools, and weakened legal protections for faith-based adoption agencies and social service organizations. It put in place alarming rules that—instead of ensuring religious Americans were treated equally under the law—fomented discrimination or punishment against anyone with deeply held religious beliefs about human sexuality, life and marriage.
First Liberty responded to these policies by submitting multiple public comments expressing our opposition and explaining why many of them were unconstitutional and in violation of federal law.
The current administration’s directive will take many of its predecessor’s actions and dangerous policies off the books. This will, in effect, protect religious Americans from government overreach and ensure the executive branch is following the law and Supreme Court precedent, which state that the government must treat people of faith fairly and the same as everyone else.
Since Inauguration Day, several executive orders and important policy changes have been put in place that will safeguard religious liberty for Americans of all faiths—including many First Liberty clients who are fighting in court for their rights.
A White House Faith Office was created to will empower faith-based entities, community organizations and houses of worship to serve families and communities nationwide. A task force was also established to eradicate anti-Christian bias.
Executive agencies are already moving in a positive direction. For example, the Department of Justice:
- Launched the Weaponization Working Group to investigate and eradicate the weaponization of the federal government.
- Limited enforcement of the federal FACE Act, which had been weaponized against religious, pro-life advocates, and dismissed multiple FACE Act cases.
- Launched a Task Force to combat antisemitism.
- Asserted pro-religious liberty positions in U.S. Supreme Court cases
- Reversed the Biden administration’s position in the U.S. Supreme Court case of United States v. Skrmetti, stating that the United States does not believe that state laws banning gender transition drugs and procedures for minors violate the Equal Protection Clause.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights opened investigations into educational institutions where antisemitic incidents were allowed to occur. This follows the President’s executive order signed on January 29 that outlined measures to combat antisemitism.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development halted enforcement of the HUD Gender Identity Rule, a provision that conflicted with millions of Americans’ religious beliefs on gender and human sexuality.
“We are thrilled that the White House recognizes that religious liberty is foundational to all of our Constitutional freedoms and plans to do all it can do to protect our first freedom,” said Kelly Shackelford, First Liberty’s President, CEO & Chief Counsel. “All Americans should be free to exercise their faith without government intrusion in school, in the military, in the workplace and in the public square.”
First Liberty will continue to monitor the administration’s actions and inform Americans on federal policies that impact their religious freedom.
