Judge dismisses lawsuit over Trump religious liberty panel

A federal judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the composition of President Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, ruling that the panel's membership meets legal requirements for balance. U.S. District Judge John Cronan issued the decision on Monday, July 27, 2026, rejecting claims that the commission unlawfully excluded non-Judeo-Christian faiths.

The lawsuit was filed in February by a multi-faith coalition including the Interfaith Alliance, Muslims for Progressive Values, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Hindus for Human Rights. The plaintiffs, represented by Democracy Forward and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, argued the commission violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires presidential advisory panels to be "fairly balanced" in membership. They contended the 14-member body was stacked with conservative Christians and one Orthodox Jewish rabbi, promoting a worldview that America is a Judeo-Christian nation and threatening religious pluralism and the separation of church and state.

In a 49-page opinion, Judge Cronan, a Trump appointee, dismantled those arguments. He wrote that the law requires...