Challenging the Trump-Vance Administration’s Biased So-Called “Religious Liberty Commission”

A multifaith coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the unlawful creation and administration of the Trump-Vance administration’s so-called Religious Liberty Commission, alleging violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and pointing to the commission’s unbalanced and ideologically biased composition.

The commission was established by Executive Order 14291 on May 1, 2025. Despite FACA’s requirements that advisory committees be fairly balanced among competing viewpoints and structured to avoid inappropriate influence by special interests, the commission’s membership consists almost exclusively of Christians, with one Orthodox Jewish rabbi. Collectively, members promote the narrow view that America was founded as a “Judeo-Christian” nation and should be guided by Biblical principles. No members represent other minority religions, including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism, nor do they represent nonreligious Americans. During meetings, commission members have routinely expressed the view that the United States is fundamentally a Christian or Judeo-Christian nation.

Congress enacted FACA in 1972 to prevent the executive branch from relying on secretive and biased advisory committees to shape national policy. The law imposes strict transparency and public interest requirements on federal advisory committees,  including obligations to maintain public access to committee records and proceedings. 

The lawsuit was brought by Interfaith Alliance, Muslims for Progressive Values, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Hindus for Human Rights. The coalition asks the court to declare that the commission was created and administered in violation of federal law, require that any recommendations issued by the commission be identified as originating from an unlawfully constituted body, and compel the disclosure of records that should already be publicly available.

On April 2, 2026, the plaintiffs asked the court to order the commission to comply with FACA’s transparency requirements by publishing documents related to its proceedings. In a late-night filing shortly before a court deadline, the government disclosed that it had publicly posted many of the commission’s previously withheld records, including transcripts, meeting minutes, witness testimonies, hearing summaries, recommendations, and related materials. While the coalition will continue arguing that the commission is unlawfully biased in favor of a single “Judeo-Christian” viewpoint favored by President Trump, the government’s last-minute disclosure represents a significant concession and underscores the necessity of challenging the administration’s unlawful actions.