Trump reportedly could sign religious liberty order; ACLU threatens to sue

Aaron P. Bernstein | Reuters. President Donald Trump has scrapped plans for an infrastructure advisory council.·CNBC

President Donald Trump may sign a divisive executive order on religious liberty as soon as Thursday, Politico reported, citing multiple people familiar with the situation.

A previous draft version of the measure — which the White House backed away from earlier this year — would have given "broad exemptions" to claim religious objections in various situations, according to Politico. Lawyers are still working on the draft language, the outlet said. Politico added that the White House has invited conservative leaders to the White House on Thursday for the National Day of Prayer.

Vice President Mike Pence is known for pushing for religious freedom measures when he was governor of Indiana.

Still, plans for possible executive orders that did not come to pass have leaked out of the White House before.

The American Civil Liberties Union — which has challenged Trump's travel restrictions on several predominantly Muslim countries — signaled that it would sue if Trump "signs an order that would allow religion to be used as an excuse to discriminate."

The White House did not respond to CNBC's request to comment on this story.

Read the full Politico report here.

Also From CNBC

Watch The Profit on Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.



More From CNBC

Advertisement