The panel was announced during a White House Rose Garden ceremony to recognize the National Day of Prayer.
WASHINGTON โ President Donald Trumpย signed an executive order on Thursday creating a religious liberty panel during a White House Rose Garden ceremony to recognize the National Day of Prayer.
Its members include Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former U.S. housing secretary Ben Carson and TV talk-show host Phil McGraw.ย
The commission was Patrickโs idea, Trump said during his remarks Thursday.
Patrick told Trump, โThere has never been a president who has invoked the name of Jesus more than you.โ
Patrick has been the Texas Lt. Governor for 10 yearsย and recently announced his bid for re-election in 2026, marking another step in his tenure as one of the stateโs most prominent conservative leaders.ย
McGraw, a former psychologist who got his start on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” had been a mainstay on daytime TV for more than 20 years before ending his show in 2023. He went on to found his own multiplatform TV network MERIT TV.ย
McGraw said Trump is a โman of deep faith, a man of deep conviction” who “wants this country to have a heart and have religion.โ
Carson served as secretary of housing and urban development during Trumpโs administration and is a former neurosurgeon.ย
According to the White House, the panel will produce a report “on the foundations of religious liberty in America, strategies to increase awareness of and celebrate Americaโs peaceful religious pluralism, current threats to religious liberty, and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.”
Key focus areas for the commission will include “parental rights in religious education, school choice, conscience protections, attacks on houses of worship, free speech for religious entities, and institutional autonomy.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.ย
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