President Trump is expected Thursday to welcome conservative leaders to the White House to witness him signing an executive order on religious liberty that critics say is outright discrimination about the LGBT community.
According to Politico, the language of the order is currently being drafted, but according to one source who’s seen the document, the language is not much different than that used in a leaked order from February which gave wide, sweeping exemptions to people and organizations to claim religious objections against same-sex marriage, abortion, and trans identity. The order also would have rolled back Obama-era protections against anti-LGBT discrimination in federal workplaces. Vice President Mike Pence has been working with other conservatives on the order since that leak and have recently put additional pressure on the President to sign it.
Speaking to USA Today, one administration official said:
that Trump has been clear about his support for the LGBTQ community — including following the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando and again during the Republican National Convention — and that he does not support any kind of discrimination. But Trump also believes there should be policies that allow for people to express and maintain their strongly held religious beliefs, the official said.
he official acknowledged it would be a delicate balance and said discussions were ongoing about how best to proceed.
The Trump campaign made a lot of promises made to the LGBT community, but this executive order would essentially be the administration turning their back on them to satiate Trump and Pence’s conservative voting base.