President Trump will sign an executive action on Thursday aimed at removing regulations that apply to religious organizations, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

"It declares that it is a policy of the administration ... to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty," the senior administration official said. "It directs the IRS to exercise the maximum enforcement discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment."

The Johnson Amendment is a provision of the tax code that prevents nonprofit organizations, including churches and religious groups, from backing political candidates.

Trump has said he wants to repeal the Johnson Amendment to give religious organizations more free speech rights. His executive action on Thursday is also expected to offer "regulatory relief for religious objecters" to provisions of Obamacare, the official said.

Critics have questioned whether policies aimed at religious freedom could lead to discrimination against the gay community by giving non-religious businesses legal cover to withhold services from gay patrons.

But proponents have argued Obama-era laws discriminated against Christians by forcing them to participate in activities that violated their beliefs, such as providing wedding services for same-sex couples or buying health insurance plans that fund contraceptives.

"This EO isn't about discrimination," the senior administration official said. "We don't have any plans to discriminate. We're about not discriminating against religious organizations."

"We know who's in trouble now," the official said when pressed on how the executive action could affect communities in the future.

The official said it was "un-American" to prevent religious organizations from expressing political beliefs. However, the official said the executive action would not affect current anti-discrimination laws.

"This isn't about legislation," the senior administration official said. "All laws still apply."