An earlier version of this article was first published in the On the Trail 2024 newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox on Friday mornings here.
Hello, friends. Another whirlwind week. If you haven’t already, track updates from our star congressional correspondent, Cami Mondeaux, as she covers Capitol Hill here.
The big idea
The Christians Trump is criticizing
This week, my colleague Kelsey Dallas reported on the White House’s new Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, which President Donald Trump pledges will “move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”
Kelsey writes:
Supporters of the task force say it will right the wrongs of the past, while opponents fear it will deepen faith-based divides. Both groups agree that it will shape Trump’s approach to religious freedom in his second term, as well as his religion-related legacy.
The move doesn’t come as a surprise. Creating such a group was a frequent pledge Trump made on the campaign trail, and the official GOP platform proposed its formation.
But now, one month into Trump’s second term, some Christians are pointing out what they see as a contradiction. While he promises to “protect Christians,” his administration is handcuffing religious groups who are helping refugees.
For The Dispatch this week, John McCormack reports about the religious groups who have — for decades — done the work of resettling refugees throughout the United States and caring for other migrants. But since Trump took office and the refugee program was halted, these groups have “been branded as corrupt, possibly criminal, and bearing blame for the border crisis — all for their participation in one or more of the programs once funded by Trump.”
Some of those groups are starting to speak out. One of those them, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, filed a lawsuit this week against the Trump administration, arguing that the funding freeze violates federal law.
Other groups allege that Trump’s policies are violating their religious liberty. In a federal lawsuit, Quaker congregations claim the Trump administration goes against religious freedom protections by allowing immigration raids at places of worship. Twenty-seven other religious groups — including Christian, Jewish and Unitarian Universalist organizations — filed a similar lawsuit.
Pope Francis also weighed in, writing in a letter to U.S. bishops that a mass deportation regime “damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.”
The push has created an uncomfortable situation for some faith leaders who applaud the Trump administration’s efforts to protect religious freedom, but disagree with the immigration policy. “I believe that the administration will probably take some positive steps on religion and religious liberty,” said Bishop Mark Seitz, Bishop of the El Paso, Texas, Diocese, on Thursday. “But when it comes to the their treatment, right now, of the immigrant, and our ability and our religious liberty to serve according to our deeply held beliefs those who are immigrants — all I can say is, if these are our friends, I would hate to meet our enemies.”
The Trump White House, in turn, has made an effort to paint Seitz and other faith leaders as the enemy. In an interview with CBS News earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, condemned Seitz’s criticisms. Vance pointed to the millions in federal funding refugee resettlement agencies receive and suggested they are profiting off their work: “Are they worried about humanitarian concerns?” Vance asked. “Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”
The U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops disputed Vance’s claims, noting that it spends more on refugee resettlement each year than it receives from the federal government. Aiding refugees — the most vetted category of immigrant admitted into the U.S., and include those who flee religious persecution — is “a work of mercy and ministry of the Church,” the council said.
On Thursday, during a press call hosted by America’s Voice, Seitz doubled down. “We need to ensure national security and community security, and we need orderly and legal migration,” he said.” Every day we fail to do that, we contribute to the erosion of the rule of law and of trust that are the bedrock of our democratic life. But the actions that we have seen from this administration are not oriented for sensible solutions. They are not oriented to any solutions at all. They are a betrayal of our values.”
Securing the border and targeting violent criminals are worthy goals, said the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. “But we have to look at the totality of policies and ask the intent,” he said. “If it is true that they’re targeting violent criminals, why was there an executive memo trying to repeal the 14th Amendment? Are children not yet born, violent criminals?”
The same can be asked about rescinding temporary protected status to those here legally; canceling CBP One appointments for asylum-seekers; and allowing raids in sensitive locations, like churches, Salguero said.
“I don’t know any pastor, bishop, rabbi, or any religious leader who’s trying to harbor violent criminals in their places of worship,” Salguero said. “If anything, we’re trying to protect our community.”
3+ things to know
- From the White House: Trump called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and sidles up to Putin ... the Trump/Musk bromance continues, even as the White House is coy about Musk’s real role ... Trump calls his first three weeks “perhaps the best ever,” do voters agree?
- From the Hill: Even some Republicans found Trump’s Zelenskyy comments indefensible ... a Senate vote on GOP’s budget reconciliation bill is expected any day, and Democrats are playing defense ... Sen. Mike Lee pushes back on judges who want to handcuff Trump ... Congress struggles to keep up with DOGE ... Sen. Mitch McConnell will retire.
- From the agencies: RFK Jr. makes his debut at Health and Human Services ... TPS will be eliminated for Haitians ... USTR instructed to lead out on sector-specific tariffs, including 25% duties on vehicles, medicine and microchips.
Weekend reads
Trump’s honeymoon faces a stark reality: his approval rating is already underwater, according to the latest Washington Post/Ipsos poll. Among U.S. adults, 45% approve of the job he’s doing, while 53% disapprove. Six in ten say he’s dishonest; 57% say he’s exceeded his authority; 53% disapprove of his economic record. More: Many of Trump’s early actions are unpopular, Post-Ipsos poll finds
The White House’s fight over “Gulf of America” continues — and Trump says he will continue to bar Associated Press reporters from the White House pool until they comply. Media coalitions, First Amendment watchdogs and news outlets (including Fox News and Newsmax) are pushing the White House to rescind the decision, but administration officials are digging in — and claiming the move is a form of punishment for, they claim, the AP’s history of “weaponizing language” to “push a partisan worldview.” Why Trump targets AP (Axios)
During his first term, Trump delivered a historic conservative majority on the Supreme Court. But his scorched-earth opening month to term No. 2 may have “undermined its own legal agenda by proceeding too aggressively, too quickly and too haphazardly”: Trump Is Making It Harder for the Supreme Court to Side With Him (Politico)