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Trump says Education Department will issue guidance on prayer and pledges DOJ action to combat anti‑Christian bias
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Summary
President Trump addressed the commission and announced Department of Education guidance protecting student prayer and said the Justice Department would pursue investigations into alleged anti‑Christian bias; he credited recent settlements and urged tougher enforcement of religious‑liberty rights in schools and universities.
President Donald J. Trump addressed the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty at the Museum of the Bible and used his remarks to pledge executive and enforcement measures the administration says are intended to protect religious expression in schools and universities.
Trump told the commission "the Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in our public schools, and it's total protection," and said he has created "the first ever Department of Justice task force to eradicate anti‑Christian bias." He framed these steps as part of broader efforts to enforce civil‑rights investigations and litigation against institutions he described as hostile to religious speech.
The president cited civil‑rights settlements and ongoing investigations, saying the administration had launched "multiple investigations into antisemitism in schools" and was pursuing Title IX and civil‑rights inquiries at more than 60 colleges. He also referenced what he described as a $200,000,000 payment from Columbia University as an example of settlements the administration had obtained.
Commission members and legal witnesses asked for clearer, agency‑level guidance and for federal reporting about which state and local education agencies certify compliance with federal laws like the ESEA; several witnesses urged that compliance be tied to federal funding to create a stronger enforcement mechanism.
The announcements by the president and the witnesses amount to policy signals rather than immediate regulatory text. The Department of Education guidance referenced by the president was announced in his remarks; the transcript records the pledge but does not contain a copy of the guidance itself or a publication date. Commission staff and agency officials did not provide immediate supplementary documents on the record during the hearing.
The commission will continue to hear testimony as it prepares a report for the president; further detail about how DOE or DOJ will implement or enforce the actions the president described would be expected in agency announcements or follow‑up materials.
