“Anything that would currently be illegal under current law would still be illegal, we’re not changing the law," a White House official said. | AP Photo Trump signs order loosening oversight of churches' political activities 'You’re now in a position where you can say what you want to say, and I know you’ll only say good and you’ll say what’s in your heart,' Trump told religious leaders.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday easing the enforcement of rules barring churches and other religious groups from political activities, pitching the controversial move sought by conservatives as an effort to promote tolerance and religious liberty.

“You’re now in a position where you can say what you want to say, and I know you’ll only say good and you’ll say what’s in your heart,” Trump told religious leaders assembled in the Rose Garden. “We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced any more. And we will never, ever stand for religious discrimination, never ever."


The order gives the Internal Revenue Service wider latitude to avoid enforcing a ban on political activity by churches and other religious nonprofits, a key 2016 campaign promise by Trump to evangelical conservatives. Critics say relaxing the rules would inappropriately let churches use tax-free donations to promote political candidates and causes.

Trump also used the ceremony on the National Day of Prayer to announce his first foreign trip as president, which will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, where he will meet the pope. Beginning the trip in Saudi Arabia underscores Trump’s hope to work with leaders in the Muslim world, White House officials said after the announcement.

"Tolerance is the cornerstone of peace," Trump said in announcing the trip.

Trump huddled with Catholic leaders in the Oval Office before he spoke, and Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman serenaded the crowd with Christian hymns. A number of cabinet officials attended the ceremony.

White House officials have said the executive order also would provide “relief” from the Affordable Care Act's requirement, already scaled back by courts, that health insurance plans cover birth control. Religious conservative employers argued for years they should not be forced to pay for insurance plans that cover services they feel violate their religious beliefs.

Trump made no mention Thursday of another move conservatives at one point expected him to take, which would would have allowed organizations to deny services if they claimed religious objections. Critics said that could permit discrimination against LGBT Americans.

It's unclear what effects the executive order targeting church activities will have. A White House official acknowledged a day earlier that the order would not change the law.

In practice, the IRS rarely acts against churches for violating the Johnson amendment, a 1950s-era policy sponsored by then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson that prohibits tax-exempt religious organizations from engaging in campaigning.

Trump made repealing it a cornerstone of his 2016 campaign for conservative Christian support, and lawmakers have also called for its repeal. “I believe it’s time that we rid our nation of this unconstitutional law by way of legislative action,” Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), an ordained pastor, said Thursday during a House hearing across town from Trump’s ceremonial signing.

Critics say that would let religious groups use tax-free donations for political purposes, which other nonprofits cannot do. "It is about a scheme to flood political campaigns with dark money," Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said at the same hearing.

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The executive order leaves the law in place but allows the IRS more discretion to avoid enforcing it. But on Wednesday, three Senate Democrats, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), said it still would let religious organizations more actively engage in politics.

The National Council of Nonprofits, the largest network of nonprofit organizations in the country, also said Thursday it opposed the executive order.

The White House official on Wednesday said they do not expect legal challenges, and the official said the changes Trump signed off on would not lead to a major shift in behavior by religious groups.

“No one’s suggesting that churches can take out political ads,” the official said.

