Thirteen U.S. senators and representatives have written to the acting director of the Internal Revenue Service urging him to continue enforcement of the Johnson Amendment that prevents churches and other charities from endorsing political candidates.
The IRS announced July 7 it no longer will enforce the Johnson Amendment as part of a settlement of a lawsuit brought by the National Religious Broadcasters and two Texas Baptist churches — Sand Springs Church in Athens and First Baptist Church in Waskom. The plaintiffs claimed they are “constrained from speaking freely about political candidates by the Johnson Amendment and by the arbitrary and capricious interpretation and enforcement by the IRS.”
Although on the books since 1954, the rule seldom ever has been enforced by the IRS, although it has been used as a threat to keep partisan preachers in line. The IRS under the Trump administration says it will abandon enforcement of the law entirely.
Amanda Tyler
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty is one of the groups urging enforcement of the law. BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler said Nov. 24 she “strongly supports the members of Congress who reaffirmed their commitment to the Johnson Amendment.”
The amendment protects churches from “the corrosive effects of partisan campaigning,” she said. “This long-standing provision safeguards both religious freedom and the integrity of the nonprofit sector by ensuring that tax-deductible charitable contributions are not diverted into political campaigns.
“Efforts to weaken or reinterpret the law, whether through Congress, state legislatures or the courts, threaten to inject money and division into sacred spaces. In 2017, when similar attempts were made, thousands of faith voices across traditions joined together to oppose the change, recognizing that partisan campaigning would distract from mission and deepen divisions within diverse communities. Eight years later, our convictions haven’t changed: Faith communities should never be turned into political campaign arms.”
“Faith communities should never be turned into political campaign arms.”
The bipartisan letter was signed by Rep. Jamie Raskin, Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. James E. Clyburn, Sen. Cory A. Booker, Rep. Jared Huffman, Sen. Jack Reed, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Rep. André Carson.
The proposed consent decree in the case announced in July “asks the court to exempt two religious organizations from obeying the law by reinterpreting the verbs ‘participate’ and ‘intervene’ and classifying communications from houses of worship to their congregations as compliant with the Johnson Amendment without any accompanying explanation for that classification. This reinterpretation is not permissible under the statute as enacted and sustained by Congress; presents serious constitutional concerns as a potential violation of the Equal Protection Clause; fails to disclose any fiscal effects of reinterpreting the law; and sidelines the principled and compelling opposition expressed by thousands of nonprofits, houses of worship and faith-based organizations that would be harmed by adopting this proposal.”
The letter concludes: “Congress has repeatedly chosen to maintain the Johnson Amendment in statute, and we reject the notion that the IRS can unilaterally reinterpret 70 years of this settled law. We urge you to withdraw your proposed consent decree.”
In the 10 months of the current Trump administration, the IRS has experienced extraordinary leadership changes and challenges. The current acting director, Scott Bessent, is Treasury secretary and has been filling in at the helm of the IRS as the seventh leader since January.
Earlier this year, a controversial deal to share taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and pressure from the Department of Government Efficiency to make significant staff cuts led several officials, including former Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause, to resign in protest. The previous permanent commissioner, Billy Long, was confirmed in June 2025 but was removed by the president less than two months later in August 2025. Subsequent acting heads also were quickly ousted or resigned.
Not only is Bessent double-dipping as head of the Treasury and the IRS, Frank Bisignano was named to the newly created position of IRS CEO in October, a dual role he holds concurrently with his position as head of the Social Security Administration.
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