Judge Tosses IRS Agreement Allowing Churches to Endorse Political Candidates

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a settlement between President Donald Trump’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that would have allowed churches to endorse political candidates to their congregations without risking their tax-exempt status.

U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker ‌in Tyler, an appointee of President Trump, ruled he lacked jurisdiction to approve the pact between the IRS and two Texas churches and the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), Reuters reported. 

Under the proposed agreement, traditional religious communications would have been deemed exempt from the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 tax code provision named after then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson that bars religious and secular nonprofits from endorsing political candidates.

The IRS entered into the pact in July to settle a lawsuit brought by NRB ahead of the 2024 presidential election, challenging the Johnson Amendment, according to the report. 

Barker ultimately sided with opponents of the agreement, Americans United for Separation of Church