Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission appears to be coming apart at the seams.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chairs the commission filled with right-wing religious zealots, announced Wednesday that MAGA influencer Carrie Prejean Boller had been removed from the panel.
In a post on X, Patrick wrote that no member “has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue.”
In response, Boller questioned Patrick’s authority to remove her from the commission and said her ouster “directly contradicts the mission of this body: protecting Religious Liberty, including that of devout Catholics like myself who reject Zionism.”
Dear Chairman Patrick,
I write in response to your public statement falsely claiming that you “removed” me from President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission.
As the name states, this is President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, not yours.
You did not appoint me to the… https://t.co/r4VoEXSrPpThe announcement came two days after a series of tense moments at a commission hearing on antisemitism, in which Boller — who’s Catholic — engaged in debate about the definition of antisemitism, asked participants at the hearing to not make Islamophobic remarks and defended right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has frequently peddled antisemitic propaganda.
As I explained earlier this week, Boller’s remarks reflect the ongoing divisions in MAGA world among some Jews and Christians, which came to a head last year in the wake of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s chummy interview with Hitler fanboy Nick Fuentes.
Some MAGA evangelicals this week showered Boller with support, while other prominent movement voices — such as the avowedly bigoted influencer Laura Loomer — pushed for her removal and cheered her ouster from the commission.
Loomer, who is Jewish and a self-described “proud Islamophobe,” celebrated Boller’s removal and followed that up with posts accusing Catholics of forging nefarious ties with Muslims.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.