The Department of Veterans Affairs has established a task force to determine whether "anti-Christian bias" exists within the federal government's second-largest Cabinet department and is asking its employees to report alleged discrimination by other staff members.
The move follows an executive order issued Feb. 6 by President Donald Trump that created a government-wide task force that it claims will "end the anti-Christian weaponization of government." It was unclear what effects it would have on Christian or non-Christian employees at the VA.
The VA task force investigation is among the latest efforts by Trump and his administration to dramatically reshape the federal government. The administration is reducing the federal workforce by tens of thousands of employees; cutting public services; and purging programs, policies and even library books they see as related to diversity -- mainly targeting minorities, women and LGBTQ+ people.
At the Pentagon and across the military services, the efforts have led to the removal of materials related to the achievements of female and minority troops, although some have been restored following public outcry; book bans at military-run elementary and secondary schools and the Naval Academy; and restrictions on what soldiers can write about at a top enlisted school.
The administration says the dramatic changes are needed to make the federal government more efficient and root out what it considers a "woke" political culture. The actions have triggered numerous lawsuits and public protests, including at Defense Department schools.
According to an email sent to VA employees Tuesday from Secretary Doug Collins, the VA will create its own task force to "review the last administration's treatment of Christians" in support of the executive order.
Trump created his executive order in response to alleged, perceived discrimination against religious beliefs under the administration of President Joe Biden. Citing legal cases brought against anti-abortion protesters and those who do not support transgender or gay rights, Trump said the federal task force, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi and made up of Cabinet secretaries and other agency leaders, would "identify unlawful policies, practices or conduct in the government" that targeted Christians and recommend action.
Bondi led the group's first meeting Tuesday. Collins, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and others were present.
"The Department of Justice will protect religious liberty for Christians and for all Americans," Bondi said in her opening remarks. "Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism. It's upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise."
In his email to employees, Collins said the VA task force will "better effectuate the department's internal review" of any discrimination inside the department. VA employees have been asked to submit any experiences that could be considered anti-Christian to the panel.
According to the email, the VA wants to know whether any employees experienced adverse effects for asking for a religious exemption to the department's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.
And it would like to hear from those who were disciplined or felt threatened if they did not support or take part in medical procedures because of religious beliefs, such as providing abortions or treatment for transgender veterans.
The VA mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for all health care workers and hospital volunteers in September 2021 but allowed for religious accommodation. Sixty-four employees were disciplined for refusing to get the immunization or apply for a religious exemption, and 10 were fired. The VA's medical department at the time employed more than 300,000 workers.
The VA in September 2022 announced it would provide abortions to veterans in cases of rape, incest and danger to the life or health of the mother. In the first year of that rule, the VA provided 88 abortions, according to data given to the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Experts who spoke to McClatchy news about Trump's executive order said it does not violate the Constitution, which protects freedom of religion by barring the government from establishing an official religion or prohibiting its free exercise under the First Amendment.
It is unusual, however, in that the order favors a group in the majority -- one that, in many states, has "great political power," said Charles Haynes, founder of the Freedom Forum's Religious Freedom Center.
"From their perspective, the government went off the rails -- the federal government -- and disfavored them because they don't like their views on the social issues," Haynes told McClatchy.
He added that, for the executive order to be unconstitutional, it would have to "be more," favoring "conservative Christian groups over other religious groups."
But he added, "this could be seen more as an effort to fight a societal problem, so the government can do that."
Mikey Weinstein, leader of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group that seeks to protect boundaries between church, religion and state, disagrees. He said during an interview with Military.com that, since Christians make up a majority of the VA workforce, he believes the investigation is an effort to force Christian values on the VA and address those "who are simply not Christian enough."
"Everybody that works for the VA has taken an oath, and they all are federal officers. And this absolutely creates a religious test to make sure that you are Christian enough. ... This is an absolute religious test," Weinstein said Tuesday.
Weinstein added that VA employees have reached out to the group and are "anxious" about the solicitation.
"It is a tarantula on the wedding cake of freedom of choice of religious beliefs, of freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom against discrimination for whatever particular god or lack of any god that you want to believe in," Weinstein said.
Collins' office did not provide any additional comment on the new task force when asked Tuesday.
The State Department sent a similar directive to its employees on April 11, asking for any instances of perceived discriminatory actions against Christian employees or those supporting them from January 2021 through January 2025, according to The Associated Press.
According to diplomatic cables obtained by The Associated Press, State Department employees can report allegations to its own task force, which in turn will be investigated by the government-wide panel. State Department employees also may make reports anonymously.
The State Department has an Office of Civil Rights that handles discrimination and harassment complaints and enforces equal opportunity employment protections. The VA has an Office of Resolution Management as well as an Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication that handles employee concerns of discrimination and harassment.
In a statement, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, acknowledged that religious discrimination is not legal and must be fought. But he said Collins' memo lacked "any factual basis or rationale."
"It raises the specter of dividing the veteran community and favoring some religions over others," Blumenthal said. "Since our nation's birth, veterans have fought and died to preserve our freedoms -- including to live free from religious intolerance or interference by government. ...
The government should be vigilant never to endorse or favor one religion above others. All veterans deserve equal respect and dignity."
The VA task force also has asked for any examples of retaliation against VA chaplains for sermons.
Collins is a practicing Southern Baptist and an Air Force Reserve chaplain.
Related: Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave
