US President Donald Trump has welcomed a decision by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allowing places of worship to endorse political candidates without jeopardising their tax-exempt status.
Speaking from the White House on July 9, 2025, President Trump said, “I love the fact that churches can endorse a political candidate. If somebody of faith wants to endorse, I think it is something I would like to hear.”
The IRS position was made clear in a recent court filing responding to a lawsuit filed by two Texas churches and the National Religious Broadcasters. In the filing, the IRS stated that traditional religious communications are exempt from the longstanding Johnson Amendment — a section of the US tax code that prohibits nonprofit organisations, including religious institutions, from endorsing or opposing political candidates.
During his first term in 2017, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at easing restrictions on political speech in churches — a regulation he had long criticised. “Those people were not allowed to speak up. Now they’re allowed to speak up,” Mr Trump said.
August 2025 News round compiled by Catherine Male
