Trump commission condemns idea of church, state separation in hearing [View all]

Source: USA Today

Updated April 13, 2026, 10:24 p.m. ET


Members of President Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission criticized notions of a necessary separation between church and state at the group's final hearing in Washington, DC, on April 13. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the commission's chairman, at one point called it the “biggest lie that’s been told in America since our founding.”

The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” but the term “separation of church and state” does not appear in the Constitution. President Thomas Jefferson popularized the phrase in the early 19th century. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State called Patrick's remarks "an attack on our democracy."

The separation of church and state "is an American original, something we should be proud of, fight for and cherish," said Rachel Laser, the organization's president and CEO. Past commission hearings touched on topics including antisemitism and religious liberty in public education. A common theme across the hearings has been the commissioners’ view that the legal system was weaponized against people of faith, particularly Christians, under past administrations.

Trump established the commission through an executive order in May. It said the commission would end on July 4, 2026 – the 250th anniversary of American independence – unless the president extends it.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/13/trump-commission-condemns-separation-of-church-and-state/89586777007/

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These people need to pack their stuff and leave. It's obvious they don't like or fit into this system of government and perhaps it would be better that they go back to whatever countries their ancestors came from, where there was a "state religion", no "right" to own a gun, and most media was owned and controlled by the central government.

Trying to reproduce and retrofit what your ancestors fled, and vomit it forth in THIS country, will lead to trouble.