Overview
Today, President Trump signed an Executive Order, “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty.” The order has three main provisions. First, it provides that “the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law, that the Department of the Treasury does not take any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective, where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office by the Department of the Treasury.” Second, it states that the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services “shall consider amending regulations, consistent with applicable law, to address conscience-based objections to the preventive-care mandate” of the Affordable Care Act. Finally, the order instructs the attorney general to issue guidance as appropriate for all agencies interpreting religious liberty protections in federal law.