President Trump is slated to issue a new executive order today making it easier for tax-exempt churches to participate in politics. Trump’s order comes on the National Day of Prayer, an annual observance created by Congress in 1952. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly promised to do away with the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits religious leaders from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Meanwhile, scores of LGBTQ activists rallied outside the White House on Wednesday following rumors Trump’s executive order would allow businesses to deny services to gay, lesbian and transgender people in the name of religious freedom. This is Ellen Buchman of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Ellen Buchman: “We’ve been here before, my friends. While generations have been working to advance progress, we all know that others have been working to impede that progress and those rights. And they have often turned to religion as their weapon of choice or, as someone’s sign back there says, as their excuse to promote discriminatory behavior.”
The Washington Post reports Trump’s executive order won’t include the LGBTQ provision, though the administration hasn’t yet revealed the text of Trump’s order.