WATCH LIVE: Trump Signs Order Directing IRS to Ignore Law Banning Church Support of Political Candidates

Could Be Sweeping or Prove to Have No Teeth

UPDATE – WATCH: President Trump Has Just Signed His Executive Order ‘Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty’

At 11 AM EDT President Donald Trump will celebrate the National Day of Prayer by signing an executive order directing the IRS to exercise maximum discretion in enforcing the Johnson Amendment, the federal law banning churches and other religious non-profits from donating to, supporting, or opposing political candidates. 

The text of the order has not yet been released, but the White House says it will state it is the policy of the Trump administration to protect and promote religious liberty. That’s a broadly-worded statement that could be sweeping or prove to have no teeth and just be lip service. We’ll soon see.

The order also offers “regulatory relief” for religious organizations – the White House has cited the Little Sisters of the Poor, and claimed the Obama administration persecuted them. 

No church has lost their tax exempt status under the Johnson Amendment in decades.

Watch live, starting around 11 AM EDT:

UPDATE – WATCH: President Trump Has Just Signed His Executive Order ‘Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty’

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