“And I guess it will now be displayed right in the heart of our nation’s capital, right here. And that’s an honor,” he added.<\/p>\n

The comments were part of Trump’s celebration of his work in his second administration to protect religious freedom for Christians. This marked the commission’s second public meeting, which focused on “Religious Liberty in Public Education.”<\/p>\n

“I’m pleased to announce this morning that the Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in our public schools,” Trump also said to approval from the crowd.<\/p>\n

However, he did not give further details on the new directive’s guidelines.<\/p>\n

Department of Education press secretary Savannah Newhouse said the department would back Trump’s plan.<\/p>\n

“Free exercise of religion is a founding principle and a constitutionally protected right afforded to all citizens of our great nation,” Newhouse told the Washington Examiner. <\/em>“The Department of Education looks forward to supporting President Trump’s vision to promote religious liberty<\/a> in our schools across the country.”<\/p>\n

Trump also touted his executive orders limiting healthcare access for transgender surgeries and limiting transgender people from participating in women’s sports, a key priority for religious conservatives during the 2024 campaign season.<\/p>\n

He also claimed to “get rid of a very sinister thing, the Johnson Amendment,” which prohibits tax-exempt religious nonprofit organizations<\/a> from engaging in explicit political campaign work.<\/p>\n

Trump took aim at his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, whom he branded “mean” and “horrible.”<\/p>\n

TWO VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO DEFEND TRANSGENDER BATHROOM POLICY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Upon taking office, I also ended the weaponization of law enforcement against religious believers and pardoned the pro-life activists thrown in jail by Joe Biden,” Trump said. “You know, people don’t realize about the Biden administration, it was a very mean administration.”<\/p>\n

Religious conservatives make up a sizable portion of the coalition that helped boost Trump back into the White House in 2024. Several high-profile evangelical supporters were in attendance for the meeting, including Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, chairman of the commission; former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, the commission’s vice chairman; Pastor Franklin Graham; Pastor Paula White; and television personality Phil McGraw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n