<p>Washington: President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> signed an executive order Thursday aimed at eradicating “anti-Christian bias” in the federal government by having agencies review policies and practices that he says have tried to squelch religious activities and activism.</p><p>Trump, who announced the order at the National Prayer Breakfast, appointed his new attorney general, Pam Bondi, to lead a task force at the Justice Department to spearhead the effort. Trump said the task force would “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society” and “move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”</p><p>“You’ve never had that before, but this is a very powerful document I’m signing,” he said. “You got it now — first time you’ve had it. If we don’t have religious liberty, then we don’t have a free country. We probably don’t even have a country.”</p><p>The executive order is meant to reverse what it calls an “egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians, while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses” under President Joe Biden. It cited the convictions of anti-abortion demonstrators for blocking access to abortion clinics.</p><p>Critics said the order and the task force turned the nation’s traditional understanding of religious freedom, established by the First Amendment and reinforced by decades of laws and Supreme Court decisions, on its head by singling out a particular religion.</p><p>“Rather than protecting religious beliefs, this task force will misuse religious freedom to justify bigotry, discrimination and the subversion of our civil rights laws,” Rachel Laser, the president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a statement.</p><p>She added, “If Trump really cared about religious freedom and ending religious persecution, he’d be addressing antisemitism in his inner circle, anti-Muslim bigotry, hate crimes against people of color and other religious minorities.”</p>.Trump administration to keep only 294 USAID staff out of over 10,000 globally, sources say.<p>Trump said he would also convene a new presidential commission on religious liberty, which he called “a very big deal.” He also plans to create a new faith office in the White House led by the Rev. Paula White, a televangelist and longtime faith adviser to Trump whose populist interpretation of the Gospel has proved divisive among Christians.</p><p>During his remarks Thursday, Trump condemned the conviction of an anti-abortion activist who attended the prayer breakfast, Paulette Harlow. She was sentenced to prison in May for blocking access to an abortion clinic. Trump pardoned Harlow and other anti-abortion demonstrators days after taking office.</p><p>Trump accused the Justice Department, the IRS and FBI of being key perpetrators of religious persecution, in line with long-running claims by conservatives that the Biden administration had used those agencies to carry out an agenda biased against conservative Christians.</p><p>Congressional Republicans have complained loudly in particular about a 2023 memo issued by the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, office that said far-right extremists might be attracted to Catholic churches or groups. That led to a contentious hearing with the FBI director.</p><p>The FBI has worked to develop sources at churches, universities and mosques for decades, but Republicans have argued that the Richmond memo showed it was targeting Catholics.</p><p>FBI officials withdrew the memo, and an internal investigation found no evidence of “malicious intent” behind it.</p>
<p>Washington: President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> signed an executive order Thursday aimed at eradicating “anti-Christian bias” in the federal government by having agencies review policies and practices that he says have tried to squelch religious activities and activism.</p><p>Trump, who announced the order at the National Prayer Breakfast, appointed his new attorney general, Pam Bondi, to lead a task force at the Justice Department to spearhead the effort. Trump said the task force would “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society” and “move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”</p><p>“You’ve never had that before, but this is a very powerful document I’m signing,” he said. “You got it now — first time you’ve had it. If we don’t have religious liberty, then we don’t have a free country. We probably don’t even have a country.”</p><p>The executive order is meant to reverse what it calls an “egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians, while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses” under President Joe Biden. It cited the convictions of anti-abortion demonstrators for blocking access to abortion clinics.</p><p>Critics said the order and the task force turned the nation’s traditional understanding of religious freedom, established by the First Amendment and reinforced by decades of laws and Supreme Court decisions, on its head by singling out a particular religion.</p><p>“Rather than protecting religious beliefs, this task force will misuse religious freedom to justify bigotry, discrimination and the subversion of our civil rights laws,” Rachel Laser, the president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a statement.</p><p>She added, “If Trump really cared about religious freedom and ending religious persecution, he’d be addressing antisemitism in his inner circle, anti-Muslim bigotry, hate crimes against people of color and other religious minorities.”</p>.Trump administration to keep only 294 USAID staff out of over 10,000 globally, sources say.<p>Trump said he would also convene a new presidential commission on religious liberty, which he called “a very big deal.” He also plans to create a new faith office in the White House led by the Rev. Paula White, a televangelist and longtime faith adviser to Trump whose populist interpretation of the Gospel has proved divisive among Christians.</p><p>During his remarks Thursday, Trump condemned the conviction of an anti-abortion activist who attended the prayer breakfast, Paulette Harlow. She was sentenced to prison in May for blocking access to an abortion clinic. Trump pardoned Harlow and other anti-abortion demonstrators days after taking office.</p><p>Trump accused the Justice Department, the IRS and FBI of being key perpetrators of religious persecution, in line with long-running claims by conservatives that the Biden administration had used those agencies to carry out an agenda biased against conservative Christians.</p><p>Congressional Republicans have complained loudly in particular about a 2023 memo issued by the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, office that said far-right extremists might be attracted to Catholic churches or groups. That led to a contentious hearing with the FBI director.</p><p>The FBI has worked to develop sources at churches, universities and mosques for decades, but Republicans have argued that the Richmond memo showed it was targeting Catholics.</p><p>FBI officials withdrew the memo, and an internal investigation found no evidence of “malicious intent” behind it.</p>