Trump's Next Executive Order: "Religious Liberty"

[Content Note: Homophobia; transphobia; Christian supremacy.]

The Loser President needs a win, so naturally the executive order on "religious liberty" is back on the docket.

Donald Trump has invited conservative leaders to the White House on Thursday for what they expect will be the ceremonial signing of a long-awaited—and highly controversial—executive order on religious liberty, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

Two senior administration officials confirmed the plan, though one cautioned that it hasn't yet been finalized, and noted that lawyers are currently reviewing and fine-tuning the draft language. Thursday is the National Day of Prayer, and the White House was already planning to celebrate the occasion with faith leaders.

The signing would represent a major triumph for Vice President Mike Pence—whose push for religious-freedom legislation backfired mightily when he served as governor of Indiana—and his allies in the conservative movement.

After the original draft was leaked, immediately meeting with widespread criticism, "Pence and a small team of conservative allies quickly began working behind the scenes to revise the language, and in recent weeks have ratcheted up the pressure on Trump to sign it."

Two things:

1. Every "religious liberty" bill/order is designed with the express purpose of giving socially conservative Christians the legal right to discriminate against people they don't like.

2. We won't know how far-reaching this particular iteration is until we see the actual text. Some are worse than others. Indiana's bill, under Pence's governorship, was appalling. He has certainly learned in the interim how to craft a bill with language that will accomplish the same objective with more careful language. Not good.

Because this is coming in the form of an executive order, rather that a piece of legislation, it's difficult to mobilize effective resistance ahead of the signing.

We're going to have to wait until the text is released and then hope that there is language which can be used to mount a court challenge.

This is sickening. I hate every moment of this presidency with every molecule of my being.