Trump's VA launches 'anti-Christian bias' investigation effort

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has directed employees to report any incidents perceived as hostile toward the Christian faith. The move is aimed at aligning with the Trump administration's executive order to "end the anti-Christian weaponization of government," according to an internal email.

The email was shared with KUOW by a VA employee who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.

The anonymous staffer said the email and related task force are unnecessary.

“Everyone is protected from religious discrimination,” they said. “They are just setting a tone.”

The email, from Secretary Douglas Collins, calls on staff to email “Anti-ChristianBiasReporting@va.gov” to report perceived bias.

It asks that VA staffers report “retaliatory actions taken in response to religious holiday observances,” and informal policies “hostile to Christian views.” (Scroll down for the full list.)

Sec. Collins opened the email by stating this directive comes out of a Feb. 6 presidential executive order titled, “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias.”

The order says it aims to “end the anti-Christian weaponization of government,” noting that the Biden administration declared March 31, 2024, Easter Sunday, as “Transgender Day of Visibility.” The Trump administration has issued several executive orders targeting transgender rights.

Trump has signed other faith-based executive orders. He ordered the creation of a White House Faith Office on Feb. 7 that would combat “anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and other forms of anti-religious bias.”

The week before that, Trump signed an order to relating to anti-Semitism in schools and college campuses – which has resulted in a focus on pro-Palestinian protesters.

Under Biden, the White House also focused on curbing religious discrimination, combatting antisemitism, but also Islamophobia, which is not mentioned in Trump’s executive orders.

The anti-Christian bias executive order was welcome news to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which, according to the AP, cites 366 cases of vandalism to Catholic venues since 2020.

But the VA staffer who shared the email said Sec. Collins’ email was mostly for show.

“We have many, many ways to report and address if we feel that we have experienced discrimination,” they said. “We don’t need a special email and task force for anti-Christian bias reporting.”

Full list of examples of anti-Christian bias from Sec. Collins’ email:

• Any examples of adverse actions taken in response to an accommodation request.
• Any retaliatory actions taken in response to religious holiday observances.
• Any adverse responses to requests for religious exemption under the previous vaccine mandates.
• Any denied requests for a religious accommodation.
• Any mistreatment of reprimand issued in response to displays of christian imagery or symbols.
• Any observations of mistreatment for not participating in events or activists inconsistent with christian views.
• Any retaliatory actions taken or threatened in response to abstaining from certain procedures or treatments (for example, abortions or … )
• Any informal policies, procedures or unofficial understandings hostile to Christian views.
• Any examples of retaliatory action against VA chaplains in response to sermons preached. Any disipline received in response to religious expressions.
• Any failure to be promoted for religious reasons.