Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced that the Department of Transportation has eliminated environmental justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations when awarding grants, Breitbart reported. President Donald Trump had promised to reverse these policies set by then-President Joe Biden.
The "Green New Scam" and DEI have meant that projects and grants are awarded based on factors other than merit. Duffy announced Wednesday that his agency was bringing that to an end after being stuck with 3,200 grants hung up on these issues.
"It’s a new day in America, where common sense is in the driver’s seat. Our roads, rails, skies, and waters will be safer for it," Duffy promised in a statement.
"The public wants to see their hard-earned dollars going towards safety and efficiency standards – not woke DEI or American Energy-killing ideas," he added. Democrats are seething as Trump and his administration dismantle Biden's woke policies.
Duffy put current applicants on notice in a letter on July 2. The secretary said it was Trump's executive orders that "direct Federal agencies" to "identify and eliminate" funding agreements or policies connected "in any way to climate change, ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, racial equity, gender identity, ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ goals, environmental justice."
The DOT will also eliminate any preference based on Biden's Justice 40 initiative, which prioritized environmental criteria. These policies were in effect "between noon on January 20, 2021, and noon on January 20, 2025" when Trump signed the executive orders.
Now Duffy said the agency "will no longer enforce these policies, or any other requirements incorporated into its Federal financial assistance agreements that are inconsistent with the policy objectives of this Administration and current DOT leadership." Duffy posted the letter to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
"Progress on American infrastructure will not be paralyzed by the leftist mandates of the last administration," Duffy captioned it. We’ve already cleared roughly HALF of the 3,200 projects left over from the previous administration that were announced but never received funding. We’re just getting started," he wrote.
Progress on American infrastructure will not be paralyzed by the leftist mandates of the last administration.
Last week, I sent a letter to all recipients of @USDOT grants that our department ripped out Biden-era requirements for DEI and environmental justice holding up… pic.twitter.com/Jh7T24NIwB
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) July 9, 2025
Rather than seeing DEI as discrimination codified by law, Democrats believed hiring on the basis of someone's race was a good and necessary thing. In contrast, Trump promised to dismantle DEI during the campaign, which the left tried to insinuate was due to his racism.
Still, Trump signed several executive orders to make it happen anway, as reported by USA Today earlier this year. "We have ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and, indeed, the private sector and our military," Trump said at the time.
"And our country will be woke no longer." Of course, Democrats hated this and insisted that what Trump was doing was not only bad for the country, but also for the companies no longer forced to hire based on applicants' most superficial traits.
"Talk to any CEO of a major Fortune 500 company. They’ll tell you that their bottom line, dollar-wise, does better when there’s more diversity in the room," Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey puzzlingly claimed.
Giving preferential treatment based on someone's race, sexual preferences, or other characteristics is not only unfair, but also complete madness. Trump is restoring the country to sanity, and that includes Duffy's announcement to remove such criteria from funding decisions.
President Trump has made a fresh pick to lead NASA, a move that is likely to anger Elon Musk after Trump rejected his preferred choice.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is the new interim leader of NASA, Trump announced in a post on Truth Social.
"I am pleased to announce that I am directing our GREAT Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to be Interim Administrator of NASA. Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again," Trump wrote.
"He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean!"
The NASA job played a role in the dramatic rift between Trump and Musk that erupted publicly in June.
Trump had initially selected Musk ally Jared Isaacman, a billionaire and private astronaut, to lead NASA. But Trump reversed course the day after Musk left the Trump administration, with Trump announcing he was pulling the nomination after a "thorough review of prior associations."
Days later, Musk launched a furious tirade attacking Trump's megabill and linking him without evidence to the Epstein files.
Trump and Musk have continued to go at it, with Trump threatening to target Musk's government contracts and Musk starting his own political party.
In a post on July 6, Trump explained why he pulled Isaacman's nomination, citing his past support of Democrats and "inappropriate" ties to Musk, the CEO of SpaceX.
Trump said he "was surprised to learn that he was a blue-blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before."
"Elon probably was, also," the president added. "I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon's corporate life."
For his part, Isaacman has rejected Trump's portrayal, describing himself as a "right-leaning moderate" and denying he has any conflict of interest, although he acknowledged flying twice on SpaceX rockets.
"Short of a new nominee, this was a great move,” Isaacman said after Duffy was nominated. “NASA needs political leadership from someone the President trusts and has confidence in."
Duffy said he was "honored" to be chosen for the role.
"Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch," Duffy wrote in response.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Almost universally regarded as the most egregious single event of the Biden presidency, the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan is, in fact, considered by many to be one of the most disastrous and staggeringly incompetent military actions in modern history.
Indeed, this past May, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an official statement announcing a special review of the event. Hegseth said:
Tens of thousands of Afghans who aided the U.S. military were left behind in the military withdrawal, and while many attempted to flee Taliban rule by leaving the country, others escaped torture and/or death through hiding.
One of them is Abdul (a pseudonym), who spoke to WorldNetDaily on the condition of anonymity due to concerns for his safety. He worked as a security guard for a U.S. company and had previously served in the Afghan National Army for nearly a decade as an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD) technician. Abdul's last day of service was Aug. 15, 2021, about two weeks prior to the conclusion of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"When Afghanistan collapsed," he told WND, "it was very difficult to save my life and also my family." He considers himself "lucky" to have found the Afghan Liberty Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provided "safe housing for hundreds of Afghans at risk of retaliation by the Taliban for working with the U.S.-backed government," as a 2022 report by The Intercept described it.
Abdul expressed deep appreciation to Ryan Mauro, the organization's founding director and national security analyst at the Capital Research Center, saying, "Ryan is a very great and kind person, giving a safe house in Kabul and saving my family for one year with financial support and also food packages and medical care."
Due to a lack of funding after the fall of Kabul, Mauro was unable to continue providing safe houses for those hiding from the Taliban, so Abdul said for the following year he was forced to move from one house to another during the night to keep his wife and children safe.
In 2023, Abdul and his family finally escaped to Islamabad, Pakistan, purchasing visas from that country. "We waited for two years in Islamabad for the humanitarian visa of Brazil," Abdul said. A few weeks ago, he and his family arrived safely in Brazil.
Unfortunately, Abdul had to leave his parents behind in Kabul, telling WND "they're still hiding in different houses." Through it all, though, he remains hopeful: "In Brazil, I just want to work hard for my family." And "God willing," he added, he hopes to make it to America one day.
While building a new life for his family is his first priority, Abdul admitted, "I can't forget the very rough time for people who are left behind in Afghanistan under the brutal regime of Taliban." He recalls a friend by the name of Ihsanudin Zadran, who served as an Afghan National Army captain, but was subsequently tortured and killed by the Taliban in 2021 in Khost Province.
It's a fate many former U.S. allies and members of the ANA continue to fear on a daily basis.
One of them is Ahmad Ehsan (a pseudonym), who has received letters of denial for Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status from the U.S. State Department and remains in hiding in Afghanistan. Ehsan is one of an estimated 62,000 Afghan interpreters and others who have sought a U.S. visa in exchange for having worked alongside U.S. forces prior to Biden's August 2021 withdrawal.
WND also spoke to Mauro, who explained: "Afghan Liberty Project was a volunteer effort," saying he "had never done anything close to running humanitarian operations overseas, nor had our volunteers." Yet, said Mauro, they were able to "provide crucial assistance to hundreds of Afghans in need, from medical aid to emergency rescues to safe shelter."
"If there's one thing that I hope people take away from this story," he said, "it's to never, ever doubt your ability to significantly help people in any situation – anywhere around the world. It's a blessing and a burden that everyone needs to understand and take seriously."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
There long have been claims, including some that are fairly wild, about the exhaust trails from passenger jets traveling over the United States.
Deliberate distribution of chemicals to change the weather, to alter populations, even for mind control.
Now Lee Zeldin, the chief of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President Donald Trump, has announced an online posting with explanations.
In his video message, he said the new web pages were posted to inform "anyone who's ever looked up to the streaks in the sky and asked, 'What the heck is going on?'"
A report in the New York Post said the facts debunk claims, including some from Zeldin's fellow Republicans, that contrails are actually "chemtrails" that are deliberately being used to distributed … something.
"We did the legwork, looked at the science, consulted agency experts, and pulled in relevant outside information to put these online resources together," Zeldin said. "Everything we know about contrails to solar geoengineering will be in there."
The EPA says the "contrails," or condensation trails, are common clouds created by the exhaust from high-altitude jets and can be seen "for the same reason that you can see the exhaust from your vehicle or your own breath on a cold day."
The EPA states, "The federal government is not aware of there ever being a contrail intentionally formed over the United States for the purpose of geoengineering or weather modification."
There are such distributions, the agency confirms, when low-altitude, propeller driven airplanes are used to distribute chemicals for firefighting, or farming, an industry that uses a variety of weed and pest controls.
Further, he said, despite headline claims about private individuals or government operations trying to "blot out the sun in the name of stopping global warming" are made up.
The report said, "Only one private company, South Dakota-based Make Sunsets, has experimented in the U.S. with solar geoengineering through what is known as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening (MCB) to potentially lower the Earth's temperature."
But there have been plans that used processes like cloud seeding to modify the weather.
Most cloud seeding is carried out to learn how to combat heavy droughts and is "primarily funded at the state or local level," the GAO has reported.
Rep. Marjorie Taylore Green, R-Ga., has promised legislation to ban releasing substances into the atmosphere in attempts to alter the weather, and HHS chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to a viral video by promising to "stop" such activity.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
During a two-hour Cabinet meeting broadcast live Tuesday, President Trump once again talked about his plan to establish a program for illegal-alien farm and hospitality workers to remain in the U.S., despite his ongoing efforts at mass deportation, while many supporters of the president express dismay about this apparent loophole in his otherwise robust immigration ideology.
Trump was asked about critics saying the new plan amounts to amnesty for lawbreakers.
"There's no amnesty," said Trump during the meeting. "What we're doing is we're getting rid of criminals, but we are doing a work program."
Then Agriculture Secretary Brook Robbins explained, "This morning [at a briefing] we talked about protecting the farmers and the farmland, but obviously this president's vision of no amnesty, mass deportation continues – but in a strategic way, and then ensuring that our farmers have the labor that they need."
"[Labor] Secretary Chavez-DeRemer has been a leader on this," Rollins continued. "Obviously, this comes out of the Labor Department, but moving toward automation, ensuring that our farmers have that workforce, and moving toward an American workforce. So all of the above."
Several days ago, Trump first broached the subject of allowing some illegal aliens to stay to work in certain industries, saying he favors legislation to solidify the details.
Then on July 3 in Iowa, during a "Salute to America" event, the president said: "Farmers, look, they know better. They work with them for years. You had cases where, not year, but just even over the years where people have worked for a farm, on a farm for 14, 15 years, and they get thrown out pretty viciously, and we can't do it. We gotta work with the farmers, and people that have hotels and leisure properties, too."
In the speech, Trump acknowledge that some on the right would not appreciate the move, saying, ""Serious radical-right people, who I also happen to like a lot, they may not be quite as happy. But they'll understand."
Trump said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo: "What we're going to do is, we're going to do something for farmers where we can let the farmer sort of be in charge. The farmer knows he's not going to hire a murderer."
Backlash from his supporters has come from several sources.
According to Blaze Media, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis remarked, "No amnesty. No debate. No compromise."
"There is no other issue the conservative base feels more passionately about than immigration," responded Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA. "In just a few decades, everyday Americans have watched their country transform into a nation of strangers. We must deliver mass deportations, not amnesty."
"Any sort of mass amnesty plan would result in a devastating midterm defeat for Republicans in Congress," commentator Todd Starnes said.
Responses on X included:
"If you are letting them stay, it's called amnesty."
"It's not amnesty, they're just not going to deport them. What a sick joke."
"This amnesty bill will be a complete BETRAYAL to the MAGA base, especially now that ICE has the budget to commence these promised mass deportations."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Kevin O'Connor, who served as the physician to Joe Biden during his term in the White House, has refused to answer questions from Congress investigating Biden's health decline, and the threats that could have posed, while in office.
That there was a decline was obvious to all who saw him during live events, where he would stumble over words, make mistakes including calling on members of Congress who were dead, jumble comments, even sometimes simply stare vacantly or wander around trying to find a way off stage.
It came to a crisis point during his debate with President Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign, a performance that gave the Democrats no other option but to allow him to "withdraw" as the party's nominee, after which the party elites in a non-democratic process named Kamala Harris as their choice.
Biden's decline is under investigation because of serious questions about some of his formal actions, including pardons to family members, which were signed by a government autopen.
Such actions are, in fact, routine, but the questions are whether he even was aware of those actions, often done by subordinates.
Legal questions remain about the validity of actions his aides would have taken if he was not fully cognizant of them, and the ramifications.
The House Oversight Committee has started taking depositions on the topic, but O'Connors lawyers submitted a statement to the members of Congress that he would "decline to answer" any questions.
"First, the physician patient privilege and the physicians' ethical duty of confidentiality require that Dr. O'Connor refuse to testify about any aspect of his care and treatment of President Biden," they said. "Second, the pending Department of Justice criminal investigation leaves Dr. O'Connor no choice but to invoke his constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to any questions posed by the committee."
However, the results of annual physical exams for other presidents routinely have been made public, even to the point of including the results of President Donald Trump's cognitive tests during his exams.
A report from the Washington Examiner noted O'Connor's claims were based on his "Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination."
The committee's investigation into the cover-up of Biden's health issues began days ago with a deposition from Neera Tanden, a Biden aide.
O'Connor earlier had insisted that his deposition be delayed, a demand refused by the committee.
The White House has waived executive privilege for those summoned by the committee, making it problematic for them to refuse to answer.
"The American people have a right to know the health condition of the president, both physical and mental," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has confirmed.
"It's no secret that this is an investigation of the autopen, but at the center of the use of the autopen is whether or not the president knew his name was being signed with an autopen."
The committee has been forced to issue subpoenas for some members of Biden's entourage, as they had voluntarily promised to appear and testify, then reversed course and refused.
Republicans want to know what tests were done for Biden, and the results, especially whether Biden's inner circle put pressure on O'Connor to say he was fit for office.
Others expected to testify include Jill Biden's "work husband," Anthony Bernall, Ron Klain, Steve Ricchetti and Ashley Williams.
Comer has cited Biden's recent revelation of a cancer diagnosis.
There are suspicions, he said, "that people were covering up the president's mental decline. But yet Dr. O'Connor's reports were glowing with, you know, how healthy the president was."
Comer said, "I think the president, the state of the president's health is the transparency that we all expect. The president of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. The American people have a right to know the health condition of the president, both physical and mental,"
He also noted, "There's more and more evidence that comes out every day that would suggest that the president was in a pretty severe mental decline."
President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security has subpoenaed Harvard University's administration for information about immigration status and alleged criminal conduct for foreigners granted student visas, Fox News reported. The legal request was sent on Wednesday, after other inquiries had gone unanswered.
The students in question are part of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program at the Ivy League institution. In a statement to Fox News Digital, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin explained the school's "refusal to cooperate" necessitated the move.
"We tried to do things the easy way with Harvard. Now, through their refusal to cooperate, we have to do things the hard way," McLauglin noted.
"Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus. If Harvard won’t defend the interests of its students, then we will," McLaughlin added.
Harvard's SEVP allows foreign students to obtain visas to study at the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution. However, some students in the program have allegedly engaged in troubling behavior on campus.
As the conflict between Israel and Palestine has escalated, anti-Semitic protests cropped up and included the participation of some of these students. This got so heated that Harvard President Alan Garber eventually had to apologize for the way Jewish students were treated.
The DHS has attempted to investigate the involvement of some foreign students in these protests by sending strongly worded letters to the Harvard administration. In April, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem requested information about SEVP students and their possible involvement.
Noem warned that failure to comply could lead to the administration revoking the program altogether. Harvard made a half-hearted attempt, sending some data that Noem said was an "insufficient, incomplete, and unacceptable response."
As a result, the DHS was compelled to revoke the SEVP designation from Harvard in May. This move affected nearly 25% of the university's student population and barred the school from enrolling any additional foreign students or issuing visas.
Following the cancellation of the program, Harvard sued the Trump administration. "It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the 'ideology' of its faculty and students," the university said in its complaint.
An Obama-appointed judge sided with Harvard and issued a temporary restraining order, allowing the university to continue the program. This latest subpoena was a legal escalation that will force Harvard to provide documents, communications, and records related to SEVP program participants dating back to January 1, 2020.
Because this request has been formalized in the courts, the university must comply or face consequences. Those include anything from contempt of court to criminal charges, civil penalties, or being subject to inspections or audits of the institution.
Meanwhile, Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton claimed the subpoena was "unfounded retribution" but that the school would comply if obligated by law, the Harvard Crimson reported. Harvard, which costs upwards of $87,000 per year to attend, is surely seething.
Trump is attempting to flush out these foreign nationals who are actively protesting against America. His administration will battle it out in court, but the issue is one that could significantly shape the future of universities.
Four suspects are facing felony charges in connection with an alleged attempt to sabotage a Border Patrol operation in Los Angeles, the Washington Examiner reported. They are accused of using "improvised devices" to damage agency vehicles and impede their operations.
The alleged perpetrators were apprehended Wednesday in the Van Nuys section of the city. U.S. Border Patrol El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino shared a photo of the devices that appeared to be rubber hoses set with nails as spikes to puncture tires.
"Just moments ago in Van Nuys during federal immigration law enforcement operations, 3 subjects attempted to impede & obstruct our efforts, using improvised devices aimed at disabling our vehicles. All three were arrested & now face felony charges," Bovino wrote, later adding that a fourth was taken into custody.
Just moments ago in Van Nuys during federal immigration law enforcement operations, 3 subjects attempted to impede & obstruct our efforts, using improvised devices aimed at disabling our vehicles. All three were arrested & now face felony charges. pic.twitter.com/ebiufrWoJT
— USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino (@USBPChiefELC) July 8, 2025
According to Fox News, the attack occurred on Tuesday as federal agents were attempting to carry out President Donald Trump's illegal immigration crackdown. Illegal immigration advocates have been working against agents to thwart these efforts.
A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security assured that this would not hinder agents from carrying out future missions. "DHS and its components continue to enforce the law every day in greater Los Angeles, even in the face of danger," the spokesperson said to Fox News Digital in a statement.
The spokesperson went on to describe the incident. "During the operation, four U.S. citizens placed improvised tire deflation devices on the road and punctured a Border Patrol vehicle’s tire. Agents were able to identify the suspects and placed them under arrest for obstructing law enforcement," the DHS said.
"During the arrest, one individual assaulted a Border Patrol agent and was subsequently arrested for assaulting federal law enforcement. Our officers are facing a surge in assaults and attacks against them as they put their lives on the line to enforce our nation's laws," the statement went on.
"Secretary Noem has been clear: If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," it added. The persons arrested for the improvised device attack included Jude Jasmine Jeannine Allar, 28; Jenaro-Ernesto Ayala, 43; Daniel Montenegro, 30; and Sadot Jarnica, 54.
This is not the first time Border Patrol agents have faced attacks while carrying out their mission. According to the DHS, there has been a 700% increase in violence against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agents involved since Trump reentered the White House.
The worst attack to date came on July 4 as an immigration detention facility was attacked by what the New York Post called an "armed mob." This coordinated attack was carried out at the Prairieland Detention Center outside of Dallas, Texas.
Ten of the people involved were arrested and charged with attempted murder after launching fireworks and shooting at law enforcement near the facility. They were decked out in tactical clothing and military-style equipment while allegedly attacking local law enforcement and federal agents who were unarmed at the time.
One officer from the town of Alvardo was shot in the neck but luckily survived after being treated at an area hospital. This came after one of the members of the violent mob unloaded up to 30 rounds at two employees at the detention center.
The left is in a frenzy over immigration enforcement, and now it appears to be spilling over into violence. This is a sickening escalation that has endangered peoples' lives, and there's a good chance it's only going to get worse.
In a move affecting tens of thousands, the Department of Homeland Security officially ended Temporary Protected Status for Honduran and Nicaraguan nationals living in the United States, Fox News reported.
The July 9 decision eliminates TPS protections for approximately 76,000 people and reflects the Trump administration’s continued effort to scale back humanitarian immigration programs.
Temporary Protected Status, known as TPS, provides relief from deportation and work permits to nationals of countries facing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. Established by Congress in 1990, TPS designations require periodic reviews and are granted in 18-month increments.
Roughly 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans will lose their legal protections under the new measure. Most have lived in the U.S. for decades, originally granted TPS status following natural disasters in their home countries in the late 1990s.
Homeland Security officials said Honduras has sufficiently recovered from the effects of Hurricane Mitch, which devastated the country nearly 27 years ago. Similarly, the department determined that Nicaragua’s recovery from a natural disaster in 1999 no longer requires TPS support.
“It is clear that the Government of Honduras has taken all of the necessary steps to overcome the impacts of Hurricane Mitch,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. She added, “Honduran citizens can safely return home, and DHS is here to help facilitate their voluntary return.”
The decision to revoke these protections follows previous TPS terminations issued in recent months. Haitians lost their TPS status weeks ago, and Venezuelans faced a similar outcome earlier in the year.
The Venezuelan termination initially faced legal pushback. A federal judge blocked the move, but in May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration, removing the injunction and allowing the policy to proceed.
“Temporary Protected Status was designed to be just that—temporary,” Noem said, underscoring the administration’s broader goal of restoring TPS to its original intent and time-limited scope.
To assist those affected by the change, DHS is offering a voluntary return program. Migrants who agree to leave the country can register through the CBP One app, which helps them coordinate travel arrangements.
Those who opt into the program will receive a free one-way plane ticket back to Honduras or Nicaragua. In addition, they will get a $1,000 “exit bonus” to aid in their reintegration process upon arrival.
A DHS spokesperson said, “The environmental situation has improved enough that it is safe enough for Nicaraguan citizens to return home. This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that TPS remains temporary.”
DHS framed the move as part of a commitment to enforcing immigration laws as written. Officials say extending TPS indefinitely undermines U.S. policy and turns a temporary relief program into a permanent residency pathway.
“Honduras has been a wonderful partner of the Trump Administration, helping us deliver on key promises to the American people,” Noem said. “We look forward to continuing our work with them.”
With the end of these protections, tens of thousands of individuals will face decisions about their future in the U.S. Many must choose between returning to countries they haven’t lived in for decades or seeking new forms of legal relief.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Internal Revenue Service has reinterpreted its rules to now allow churches to endorse political candidates to their congregations without losing their tax-exempt status.
Reports described the adjustment as a formality since the regulation rarely was enforced anyway.
But the new standard was made clear in a court filing, a consent judgment, in a Texas federal court in a case brought by the National Religious Broadcasters and Intercessors for America, Sand Springs Church and First Baptist Church Waskom.
A report at Just the News explained those plaintiffs sued over the Johnson Amendment because it requires "certain organizations, including churches, to refrain from participating or intervening in campaigns for public office as a condition for their non-profit, tax-exempt status."
That was instigated by Lyndon Johnson who, as a senator, was facing opposition from faith groups in his campaign.
"When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither 'participate[s]' nor 'intervene[s]' in a 'political campaign,' within the ordinary meaning of those words," the federal agency confirmed.
Analysts confirmed it was the first time the IRS formally confirmed such statements are legal, not just tolerated or overlooked.
"The agency has for years been wary of punishing religious leaders for political statements made during worship," the report said.
The contention from churches and Christian organizations has been that the IRS rule violated the First Amendment right they have to speak and to exercise their religion, as well as their Fifth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection.
The IRS said that stretching the Johnson Amendment to cover church statements regarding issues of faith and candidates "would create serious tension with the First Amendment's Establishment Clause" as it "would treat religions that do not speak directly to matters of electoral politics more favorably than religions that do so."
The Washington Examiner noted, in the case, both sides "asked a federal judge to order the Trump administration and future presidential administrations not to enforce the ban on political endorsements against the groups that sued."
The report noted President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have been trying to overturn the amendment for years.