President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission delivered its recommendations to the White House on Friday, laying out a blueprint for expanding federal protections for religious liberty through new Justice Department enforcement, military reforms, and other executive actions.
The 224-page draft report, presented to Trump by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the chairman of the commission; Vice Chairman Ben Carson; and other members via the DOJ on Friday, is expected to guide future administration policy after a yearlong review of alleged religious discrimination affecting U.S. citizens across education, healthcare, the military, and the workplace.
The recommendations come as the Trump administration has already begun stepping up religious liberty enforcement. Last week, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon asked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate Major League Baseball over allegations it discriminated against three San Francisco Giants pitchers who were warned after writing Bible verses on their Pride Night hats.
Dhillon also accused MLB of applying a “double standard,” arguing the league previously allowed players to display Black Lives Matter messages while warning the Giants pitchers over Bible verses.
Established by Trump in May 2025, the commission held seven public hearings and heard testimony from more than 100 witnesses representing different faiths and backgrounds. The hearings examined religious liberty in education, healthcare, the military, workplaces, and faith-based institutions, as well as the rise of antisemitism.
The report builds on Trump’s broader pledge to elevate religious liberty during his second term.
“We’re bringing back religion in our country, and we’re bringing it back quickly and strongly — because for America to be a great nation, we must always be one nation under God,” Trump said in a statement that was released alongside the draft report.
Among its 12 recommendations, the commission called on the DOJ to establish a dedicated religious liberty task force to prioritize First Amendment litigation and issue guidance clarifying the proper interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution and religious expression in public life.
The panel also recommended that the DOJ, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the EEOC create “Know Your Rights” materials and establish reporting hotlines for students, parents, teachers, healthcare workers, military service members, and others who believe their religious freedoms have been violated. “Know Your Rights” is a common phrase among left-leaning opponents of immigration enforcement, and progressive activists frequently distribute “Know Your Rights” materials to illegal immigrants.
Other recommendations include repealing the Johnson Amendment, strengthening enforcement against antisemitic discrimination and violence, streamlining the military’s religious accommodation process, and continuing efforts to restore retirement benefits and reenlistment eligibility for service members who left the armed forces after objecting to the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds.
Earlier this year, a separate DOJ report outlining past government bias against Christians found that the IRS under the Biden administration failed to apply the Johnson Amendment, which restricts political activity by tax-exempt organizations, in a viewpoint-neutral manner, “appearing to investigate Christians whose religious values aligned with conservative political views, while appearing to ignore open endorsements of liberal candidates at other churches.”
The commission highlighted testimony from U.S. citizens who said they suffered retaliation because of their religious beliefs, including healthcare workers, teachers, military personnel, parents, students, and religious organizations.
Among those cited were former Navy SEAL Blake Martin, who lost his retirement benefits after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine; Dr. Eithan Haim, who faced federal prosecution after disclosing information about pediatric transgender procedures on minors at Texas Children’s Hospital; Harvard University graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum, who sued the school for failing to protect Jewish students; and former Alaska Airlines flight attendant Lacey Smith, who said she was fired after expressing religious objections to the Equality Act.
The report also recommends creating a Presidential Medal of Religious Liberty and First Freedom Hero Awards to recognize people who have defended religious freedom and encourage broader public awareness of First Amendment protections.
BIDEN IRS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST CHRISTIAN GROUPS, DOJ REPORT FINDS
Following its submission to the Oval Office, a 15-day public comment period will commence, closing on July 12.
The commission will hold a virtual public meeting to review comments and later finalize the report. Attendance details will be posted in the Federal Register at least seven days prior to the meeting, according to the DOJ’s webpage.