Almost exactly one month after Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced that he unilaterally removed Carrie Prejean Boller from the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission, President Trump’s office directly communicated to Boller that she is indeed fired.
Boller shared the communication she received from President Trump’s office on X, writing, “President Trump officially removes me from the Religious Liberty Commission for exercising my Religious Liberty. The only Catholic woman who opposes Zionism was removed as a prelude to the Iran war.”
The communication Boller received came from a representative of the Presidential Personnel Office, Mary Sprowls. Sprowls wrote,
Dear Mrs. Boller,
On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Religious Liberty Commission is terminated effective immediately.
Thank you for your service.
Boller’s firing stems from her concerns about speech being falsely framed as anti-semitic – including views that oppose Zionism – and therefore censored. She voiced these concerns during the commission’s hearing on antisemitism in February. (Catholics for Catholics previously reported on the hearing here and her subsequent firing here.)
In her open letter to the president, Boller revealed that the “witch hunt” against her had actually begun in August, several months before the February hearing:
Dear President Trump,
I’m shocked that the removal of the only Catholic woman on the Religious Liberty Commission was handled through a brief email from a staffer rather than a direct conversation with the President who appointed me. This is the same staffer who called me back in August asking for my resignation at the behest of Zionist heretics Dan Patrick and Paula White. This is when the witch hunt against me began.
Boller said that had been looking forward to meeting with the president in May to discuss ideas to strengthen religious liberty, but “I now find myself fighting for my own religious freedom while serving on the very commission created to defend the religious freedom of every American.”
Boller also wrote extensively about her Catholic faith:
My Catholic faith is not something I hide. It is part of who I am, and it is woven into the story of America itself. Catholics helped build this nation…
…it is unacceptable that a Catholic voice defending Church Tradition would be removed from a Religious Liberty Commission. Why are my first amendment rights not being upheld?
…
Asking me to deny that Catholic teaching in order to satisfy a political ideology is itself a violation of my religious freedom. I have a duty to defend the religious liberty of Catholics in United States of America, and I cannot assent to a heretical theology my Church rejects. My Christian faith does not allow me to ignore human suffering. I have a duty to speak for the lives being killed at the hands of the Israeli government, while the United States and my tax dollars are paying for it.
In response to Boller’s termination, Catholics for Catholics wrote on X:
“We are very disappointed that the Trump administration has officially removed Carrie Prejean from the Religious Liberty Commission. We understand that there may be disagreements among those on the Commission who do not profess the Catholic faith. However, the very purpose of the Commission is to allow for differing points of view while maintaining respect for one another’s beliefs.
Carrie’s position on Zionism, which is the Catholic view, is not an antisemitic position. While all followers of Christ reject hatred of any kind—including toward the Jewish people— anti-zionism is NOT the same as anti-semitism.
We at Catholics for Catholics also stand with Jewish Americans who take offense at being called “second-class Jews” simply for being America First. In fact, many younger voters in the United States increasingly sympathize with the Catholic view on Zionism, as they embrace patriotism, reason, and common sense.
Ironically, Carrie’s courageous stand has only amplified her voice, precisely because of her refusal to compromise her Catholic beliefs and her steadfast defense of religious freedom.
We renew our previous petition to the Bishops, who are part of the Commission’s panel, to speak up on Carries defense”
Before the announcement of Boller’s termination from Trump’s office, Catholics for Catholics had already announced that Boller will receive the Catholic Champion award in person at the Catholic Prayer for America Gala next week, March 19th, in Washington, D.C.
