Establishment of the Religious Liberty Commission

The order establishes the Religious Liberty Commission, composed of up to 14 presidential appointees drawn from the private sector, educational institutions, religious communities, and state government, along with ex officio seats for the Attorney General, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. The Commission must produce a comprehensive report covering the foundations of religious liberty, current domestic threats, and strategies to preserve protections for future generations, and must advise the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council on related policies. Three advisory boards — of religious leaders, lay leaders, and legal experts — report to the Commission Chairman.

The order sets a hard termination date of July 4, 2026, unless the President extends it. Members serve without compensation but may receive travel expenses. The Department of Justice must provide funding and administrative support. The order expressly creates no enforceable legal rights and includes a severability clause; its implementation is subject to the availability of appropriations.

Presidential appointees who will serve on the Commission and its three advisory boards; the Department of Justice, which must fund and staff the body; and the White House Faith Office and Domestic Policy Council, which will receive the Commission's recommendations. Faith-based organizations, religious schools, and individuals with religious liberty concerns are the subject population the Commission is meant to study.

The Commission can shape White House and potentially legislative policy on contested religious liberty questions — including conscience protections in healthcare, religious exemptions in public schools, and tax status of faith-based groups — but it has no binding authority of its own; real impact depends on whether its recommendations are acted upon.

The Commission's Chairman and Vice Chairman are designated by the President from among appointed members. Three advisory boards feed input to the Chairman. The Commission's primary deliverable is a written report; it also advises the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council. The Department of Justice funds and staffs the Commission within existing appropriations. The Attorney General performs most Federal Advisory Committee Act presidential functions. The Commission sunsets July 4, 2026, unless the President extends it, at which point members become eligible for two-year reappointment terms.