Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announces presidential commission on religious liberty

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced the creation of a Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty and said the idea grew out of a post-election conversation with President Trump. Patrick said, "On November 19th of last year, after the election, President Trump and I had a conversation," and that the two agreed to establish the commission.

Patrick said the panel was intended to include faith leaders, scholars and historians — "people who have been to the Supreme Court and been involved in a number of cases on religious liberty" — and that the commission eventually included 13 members. He named several attendees and said some members were traveling: "Cardinal Dolan sends his regrets. His train was canceled," and Franklin Graham and Eric Metaxas were in Europe.

Patrick described the timeline for creating the body: once the president was sworn in and staff and cabinet confirmations were complete, work intensified in March. "It took us several weeks to write the executive order, and on May 1st, the National Day of Prayer, we were in the Rose Garden," he said, adding that the commission and its members were officially announced with that executive order.

He said the commission will be supported by advisory boards composed of scholars, historians and clergy who "will advise us along the way," and that some advisory members were present at the meeting. Patrick did not provide further procedural details about the commission's schedule, specific mandates or staffing during these remarks.

The remarks reported here were delivered by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who identified himself as chair of the commission. The announcement described an executive-order formation and named several faith leaders and advisers; no formal votes or additional administrative actions were stated during this exchange.