Thirteen people will now serve on the US Religious Liberty Commission, according to President Trump’s appointment.
As part of Thursday’s National Day of Prayer ceremony, Trump established the panel by signing an executive order at the White House. Protecting and advancing religious freedom, a fundamental American value, is the duty of the organization.
President Obama appointed Dan Patrick to the position of chairman. After being elected as Lieutenant Governor of Texas for the first time in 2014, he was re-elected in 2018 and again in 2022.
Dr. Ben Carson, a famous pediatric neurosurgeon and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the first Trump administration, is the vice chairman.
Dr. Phil McGraw, author and host of Dr. Phil, Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota, and Carrie Prejean Boller, author and 2009 Miss USA first runner-up, are among the members. Ryan T. Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is also on the list.
Pastor Franklin Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; Allyson Ho, Partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; and Eric Metaxas, writer and radio broadcaster, are among the others. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York also participates.
Rabbi Meir Soloveichik of America’s oldest Jewish congregation, Congregation Shearith Israel, Pastor Paula White of the National Faith Advisory Board, and First Liberty Institute President and CEO Kelly Shackelford round out the other members.