Trump Taps Lt. Gov. Patrick, Dr. Phil for Religious Liberty Commission

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will lead a new federal commission on religious liberty, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The president called Patrick “an amazing politician” and a “man of great religion” in delivering the news at an event for the National Day of Prayer in the Rose Garden. (In his inauguration address, he praised Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in similar terms.)

As president of the Texas Senate, Patrick has driven the chamber considerably farther right. He has prioritized and supported numerous bills to bring religion into public schools, including with Senate Bills 10 and 11 this session, which would mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in Texas public schools and create time for school prayer programs.

“The last administration attacked people of faith for four years,” Patrick said during the announcement. “There’s a saying that no one should get between a doctor and a patient. I think we would say no one should get between God and a believer. No one should get between God and those seeking him.”

Patrick will serve with up to 13 other members on the commission, also to be appointed by Trump, who will represent the private sector, schools, religious communities and states, according to the president’s executive order.

The body will be charged with producing a report on religious liberty in the U.S. that describes its foundations, impact on society, current threats to it, strategies to “preserve and enhance” it and programs “to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism.”

That report will need to address nine topics specifically:

• “The First Amendment rights of pastors, religious leaders, houses of worship, faith-based institutions, and religious speakers;
• “Attacks across America on houses of worship of many religions;
• “Debanking of religious entities;
• “The First Amendment rights of teachers, students, military chaplains, service members, employers, and employees;”
• “Conscience protections in the health care field and concerning vaccine mandates;
• “Parents’ authority to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children, including the right to choose a religious education;
• “Permitting time for voluntary prayer and religious instruction at public schools;
• “Government displays with religious imagery; and
• “The right of all Americans to freely exercise their faith without fear or Government censorship or retaliation.”

Trump’s order says that it is a response to policies in recent years that have infringed on religious liberties.

The lieutenant governor praised Trump and predicted that the order will be of historic importance.

“Mr. President, on this day, you are restoring the hopes and the prayers of millions upon millions of believers of all faiths,” he said, as quoted by the Morning News.

Trump also has appointed Phil McGraw — the television host Dr. Phil — to the commission.

McGraw, who said that he and the president have been in contact privately, praised Trump’s moral character during the White House event.

“This is a man of deep faith, a man of deep conviction, and this is a man that wants this country to have a heart and have religion,” he said.