{"id":2513461,"date":"2025-11-22T07:51:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-nominee-mark-walker-intends-to-fight-religious-persecution\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T07:54:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:54:46","slug":"trump-nominee-mark-walker-intends-to-fight-religious-persecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-nominee-mark-walker-intends-to-fight-religious-persecution\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump nominee Mark Walker intends to fight religious persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-nominee-mark-walker-intends-to-fight-religious-persecution%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2513461&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Mark Walker, nominated by former President Donald trump to lead the State Department&#8217;s Office of International Religious Freedom, aims to combat global religious persecution, with a particular focus on the ongoing crisis faced by Christians in Nigeria. Walker highlights the Nigerian government&#8217;s insufficient response to violence against Christians, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >noting disproportionately high murder rates<\/a> and inadequate protection compared to other religious groups. He supports Trump&#8217;s decision to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/baffling-error-joe-biden-removes-nigeria-from-religious-oppressor-list-despite-christian-persecution\/\" title=\"&#039;Baffling Error:&#039; Joe Biden Removes ... from Religious Oppressor List Despite ... ...\">religious freedom violations<\/a>, a move reversed by the Biden administration. Alongside Nigeria, Walker plans to address religious persecution in countries such as Sudan, the Democratic Republic of congo, India, China, and North Korea. Should the Senate confirm him, Walker commits to advocating for persecuted faith communities worldwide, continuing a role established in 1998 to shed light on religious oppression and advocate for those unable to defend their own freedoms.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump nominee Mark Walker intends to fight religious persecution as he seeks ambassadorship<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2406108\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>In light of the ongoing Christian persecution in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nigeria\/\">Nigeria<\/a> and elsewhere, one of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump&rsquo;s<\/a> nominated ambassadors is prepared to uphold <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/religious-freedom\/\">religious freedom<\/a> around the world for all faiths.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mark-walker\/\">Mark Walker<\/a>, who was nominated in April to lead the State Department&rsquo;s Office of International Religious Freedom, spoke on the Nigerian crisis in an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. If confirmed by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a>, the ambassador-designate anticipates Nigeria will be among the countries he visits to address violations of religious freedom.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3895504\/anti-israel-website-disappears-after-offering-bounty-israeli-academic-figures\/\">Anti-Israel website disappears after offering $100,000 to kill Israeli academic figures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3894937\/state-dept-orders-diplomats-directly-pressure-western-nations-end-mass-migration\/\">State Department orders diplomats to pressure Western nations to end &#8216;mass migration&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3894794\/former-french-president-nicolas-sarkozy-memoir-20-day-prison-stint\/\">Former French President Sarkozy to release memoir on 20-day prison stint<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The Nigerian government stresses it&rsquo;s doing everything possible to protect <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/christians\/\">Christians<\/a> from Islamic terrorists, but Walker argues the country is not doing enough.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The numbers just don&rsquo;t simply add up,&rdquo; he said, explaining that Christians are murdered at a 5:1 rate compared to those of other religions. This wouldn&rsquo;t be the case if Nigeria swiftly responded to the threat that Islamic terrorists pose to its population, Christian or otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Nigerian military wants to tell you they&rsquo;re combating Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province in the north,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;but the Nigerian security forces do very little to stop the violence at the hands of these Fulani ethnic militias there in the Middle Belt.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In many cases, Walker says, Christians are provided with single-shot cartridge guns for self-defense. However, the weapons provide very little advantage against attackers armed with automatic rifles.<\/p>\n<p>Violence targeting Christians in Nigeria has been an issue for years. At least 50,000 Christians have been murdered in the West African nation since 2009, according to lower estimates made by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anal-rape-with-a-stick-bbc-report-details-systemic-rape-in-uighur-concentration-camps\/\" title=\"\u2018Anal Rape With A Stick\u2019: BBC Report Details Systemic Rape In Uighur Concentration Camps\">human rights groups<\/a> and lawmakers. Others show as many as 100,000 Christians killed in the past 16 years. This year alone, more than 7,000 Christians have been killed in targeted attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, masked gunmen killed at least two people at a Pentecostal church in central Nigeria and kidnapped the pastor along with several others.<\/p>\n<p>The incident is one out of many examples that have caught the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration&rsquo;s<\/a> eye.<\/p>\n<p>The situation in Nigeria recently made news headlines when Trump designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern for religious freedom violations, reversing the Biden administration&rsquo;s decision to drop the designation. Walker says Trump was &ldquo;100% correct&rdquo; in redesignating Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>The United States made its point more forcefully this week when <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-waltz\/\">Mike Waltz<\/a>, the U.S. ambassador to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-nations\/\">United Nations<\/a>, called the massacre of thousands of Christians in Nigeria a &ldquo;genocide.&rdquo; Although he recognizes the term should be used sparingly, Walker agrees with its use in this case because the religiously motivated killings predate 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Countering the Trump administration&rsquo;s characterization, an adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said claims of a targeted Christian genocide are a &ldquo;hoax.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging there are mass killings in Nigeria, &ldquo;the difference is we object to the illusion that the killing is targeting a religion,&rdquo; Daniel Bwala told the South African Broadcasting Corporation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The whole idea of a Christian genocide is a hoax,&rdquo; Bwala added. He made a similar argument in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RT_com\/status\/1989626745050558607\">video interview<\/a> with Russian state-controlled media outlet RT.<\/p>\n<p>Joining Waltz in solidarity at a U.N. event, rapper Nicki Minaj passionately spoke about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and thanked Trump for taking &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nicki-minaj-nigerian-christian-persecution-demands-urgent-action\/\" title=\"...: ...n ... ... demands &#039;urgent action&#039;\">urgent action&#038;rdquo<\/a>; on the crisis. Walker commended Minaj for using her celebrity platform to speak out on the atrocity.<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria is one of approximately 19 countries that Walker plans to review for spikes in religious freedom violations. He is also concerned about Christians dying in mass violence in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sudan\/\">Sudan<\/a> and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as an increase in the number of anti-conversion laws in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/india\/\">India<\/a> under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>\n<p>More hostile countries, such as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\">China<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-korea\/\">North Korea<\/a>, will be difficult for the United States to gain access to, but the aspiring ambassador remains hopeful.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll go in, meet with these people, come back, report that, and give our best information and feedback to the Secretary of State and President Trump on these areas that we feel are increasing,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President Trump is certainly within his rights to be able to talk about some of the hot spots, where there seems to be such a huge ratio of Christians versus other religious minorities that are being persecuted or murdered for their faith,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Walker said he is grateful Trump is defending all people of faith, and he looks forward to doing the same if and when the Senate confirms him.<\/p>\n<p>The nominee first needs to attend a confirmation hearing before the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate-foreign-relations-committee\/\">Senate Foreign Relations Committee<\/a>, which has not yet scheduled his hearing based on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foreign.senate.gov\/hearings\/calendar\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rejects-bannon-bid-to-avoid-prison-sentence-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Supreme Court rejects Bannon bid to avoid prison sentence - Washington Examiner\">committee&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s calendar<\/a>. If approved by the panel, he will then proceed to a final vote in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Walker anticipates the confirmation process will wrap up sometime next month. His predecessor, Rashad Hussain, was confirmed on Dec. 16, 2021, after being nominated by former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden<\/a> on July 30, 2021. It&rsquo;s been seven months since Walker&rsquo;s nomination.<\/p>\n<p>The ambassador-designate has drawn support from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/erlc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Faith-Leader-Letter-Support-Mark-Walker.pdf\">40 faith leaders<\/a>, who urged Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch (R-ID) to advance Walker toward confirmation. Their letter arrived late last month when the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/government-shutdown\/\">government shutdown<\/a> was still in effect.<\/p>\n<p>Walker previously served as a Republican congressman representing <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-carolina\/\">North Carolina&rsquo;s<\/a> 6th Congressional District from 2015 to 2021 and, before that, as a Baptist pastor.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3890897\/nicki-minaj-nigerian-christian-persecution-demands-urgent-action-unite-humanity\/\">NICKI MINAJ SAYS NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION DEMANDS &lsquo;URGENT ACTION&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The position of Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom was created by a bipartisan bill signed by former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\">Bill Clinton<\/a> in 1998. Walker is poised to become the seventh person to hold the post, and, like most of his predecessors, he has a Christian background.<\/p>\n<p>The bipartisan legislation charges each given ambassador to &ldquo;get out there and bring attention to places where people are being put in prison and, even worse, persecuted and killed simply because of their faith,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited about getting out there and advocating for those who cannot advocate for themselves.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump nominee Mark Walker aims to combat global religious persecution<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2513462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP23298766426908.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[67520,43545,3634],"class_list":["post-2513461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-mark-walker","tag-religious-persecution","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP23298766426908.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2513461"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2513465,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513461\/revisions\/2513465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2513462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2513461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2513461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2513461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}