For more than 70 years, the Johnson Amendment has ensured that all tax-exempt charitable nonprofits—including houses of worship—do not become conduits for partisan politics. Houses of worship are spaces where members of communities can come together, not be divided along political lines. Religious communities across the country do not want their places of worship to endorse or oppose political candidates. Religious and non-religious Americans alike support the Johnson Amendment. 

Trump has tried this before

Trump has tried to “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment before. Prior to his first term, Trump, in an effort to support his Christian Nationalist allies, vowed to “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment. He was unsuccessful then, but this time could be different.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), acting in response to a recent lawsuit filed on behalf of two churches in Texas and two Christian organizations, has proposed essentially allowing houses of worship – but not secular nonprofits – to endorse or oppose candidates.

This reinterpretation of the Johnson Amendment is a self-serving attack on church-state separation

This proposed change would open the floodgates for any church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other house of worship to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without risking their tax‑exempt status. If the court approves this settlement, houses of worship would be subject to intense political pressure to engage in electoral politics from down ballot races and primaries to the presidency, distracting them from their missions. It would also create a loophole for the political donors to enjoy tax deductible donations for their political campaign contributions, exploiting houses of worship for political gains.

Americans United President and CEO, Rachel Laser, said that the Trump Administration’s new interpretation of the Johnson Amendment “is a flagrant, self-serving attack on church-state separation … President Trump and his Christian Nationalist allies are once again exploiting religion to boost their own political power. We’re intervening in this case so we can urge the court to reject the administration’s latest gambit to re-write the law.”

Americans United requested intervenor status in National Religious Broadcasters v. Long and asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to reject this proposal because it would grant favor and privilege to religious organizations and treat them differently than secular nonprofits – an unconstitutional violation of church-state separation. Unfortunately, on December 12, 2025, the court denied our motion to intervene. But the court still has not ruled on the IRS’s proposed reinterpretation of the Johnson Amendment.