Rep. Steube Requests DOJ Action on Religious Freedom

WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) led a group of lawmakers in a letter to the Department of Justice yesterday calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to pursue legal action against states that refuse to provide a religious exception for vaccine mandates.

"Religious freedom is the cornerstone of our Republic," said Rep. Steube. "It is inexcusable that New York, California, Maine, and Connecticut refuse to provide people of faith with a religious exemption from their vaccine mandates. This is not only a direct violation of the Free Exercise Clause, but it is also a grave assault on civil liberties. Your constitutional rights should never take a backseat to a vaccine mandate. That is why I am requesting Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon launch formal investigations of all states that continue to violate the constitutional rights of the American people via coercion and infringement on their religious beliefs."

Rep. Steube is joined by Representatives Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Troy Downing (R-Mont.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Keith Self (R-Texas), and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas).

Background: Under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, Americans are guaranteed the right to practice their faith without undue interference from the government. However, there are no religious exemptions to mandates under the existing laws of California, Connecticut, Maine, and New York. This is despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor that held public schools must provide opt-out provisions for families with objections based on religious grounds.

Read the letter here.