The threat posed by the Christian nationalist bent of Trump’s nominees

Republished with permission from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. AnneLandmanblog included some additional information, references and videos:

President-elect Trump’s nominees for cabinet and other powerful positions read like a “Who’s Who” of Christian nationalists (pdf) and Project 2025 creators. His choices for key federal positions in federal government constitute a direct threat to the secular foundations of the U.S. government and signal the implementation of Project 2025, the extremist blueprint aimed at reshaping the federal government to align with a narrow sectarian ideology. Project 2025’s agenda includes dismantling the wall between state and church, curbing religious freedoms for non-Christians, and pushing policies that marginalize religious minorities and LGBTQ-plus individuals. By nominating individuals deeply entrenched in Christian nationalist movements to key positions, Trump can fast-track the implementation of this radical agenda.

Here’s a rundown of cabinet and high-level picks that are prominently connected to Christian nationalism, Project 2025 or the America First Policy Institute, founded to advance Trump’s Christian nationalist-influenced agenda:

Pete Hegseth — Department of Defense

Fox TV personality Hegseth has immersed himself in a culture of right-wing Christianity and political extremism. The Defense Department is tasked with protecting our nation, upholding the Constitution and preserving all Americans’ rights — regardless of religious belief or lack thereof. But if Hegseth were to lead the Pentagon, it could be weaponized for a Christian crusade. Learn more about his controversial religious tattoos and why he’s unfit to lead the Pentagon.

Tom Homan — Border Czar 
Homan is listed among the contributors to Project 2025. He was also a visiting fellow with the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center. While he does not explicitly frame his views in religious terms, Christian nationalism often intertwines strict border policies with the preservation of a perceived Christian-American identity. This appointment does not require Senate confirmation. 

Speaking at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference, Homan told the audience “I don’t give a shit” about family separation:

Mike Huckabee — Ambassador to Israel
Huckabee has a long history of aligning U.S.-Israel policy with his own evangelical Christian beliefs, which prioritize Israel’s control over biblical lands rather than practical or peaceful solutions to territorial disputes. “Basically, there really is no such thing as — I need to be careful about saying this because people will really get upset — there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” Huckabee said in 2008. He regularly leads Christian evangelicals on visits to Israel. Luis Moreno, a former U.S. ambassador, recently called out Huckabee’s extremism on these trips: “I unfortunately was exposed to him during his visits to Israel back in the day. Full blown (and knowledgeable) fanatic of the End of Times, Apocalypse, Israel’s destruction, etc. A true and utter nut case. Couldn’t be a more dangerous selection.” Read more about Huckabee’s apocalyptic views. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Health and Human Services
Kennedy is an environmental attorney with no degrees in medicine or public health and is notorious for publicizing the discredited theory that childhood vaccines are a cause of autism. His anti-scientific and anti-vax rhetoric poses severe risks to the American people — affecting public health, scientific trust and the overall quality of information accessible to the public. Read more about how letting him “go wild” will be a public health disaster.

RFK Jr. spreading the conspiracy theory that the Covid-19 virus was “targeted to attack caucasians and Black people,” and “the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and the Chinese.”:

Marty Makary — Food and Drug Administration
Makary has made some controversial statements, particularly about the Covid pandemic. He has claimed that the federal government was the “greatest perpetrator” of misinformation during the pandemic. He also said natural immunity was “at least” as effective or even better than immunity provided by preventive vaccines, claiming the nation would reach herd immunity by April 2021.

Linda McMahon — Education
McMahon is chair of the board of the America First Policy Institute, which she helped start with Tim Dunn, the billionaire Christian nationalist pastor seeking to destroy public education, privatize public schools and create a theocracy. The Institute’s America First Agenda competes with Project 2025 as a playbook for Trump’s return to the White House. It details the plans for a radical transformation of America’s education system in “Pillar IV: Give Parents More Control Over the Education of Their Children.” Learn more about how McMahon would help Trump put public education down for the count.

Video of Linda McMahon,Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Education:

Stephen Miller — Deputy Chief of Staff
Miller infamously helped design Trump’s Muslim ban and the family separation policy. He identifies as Jewish, but his political strategies often overlap with those of Christian nationalist leaders and groups. These entities supported his policies and rhetoric as part of a broader agenda to enforce a Christian cultural framework in public life. His organization, America First Legal, was initially listed among the contributors to Project 2025. Still, the group’s name was removed from its website after Trump and his allies criticized the blueprint. This appointment does not require Senate confirmation.

Janette Nesheiwat — Surgeon General

Nesheiwat, an emergency and family health physician and Fox News medical contributor, has a book coming out in December that offers “stories of miraculous recoveries, experiences in the ER, and global medical missions illuminate the transformative power of prayer and unwavering dedication to healing and service.” “Fox & Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt has blurbed the book, writing: “I’m inspired by Dr. Nesheiwat’s dedication to serving others in the name of Jesus Christ. Her extraordinary service is documented in ‘Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine’ where she showcases the power of Jesus guiding her work leading challenging and dangerous medical missions throughout the world. This book is a reminder of the blessings that unfold when we trust in God’s love.”

Kristi Noem — Homeland Security
Noem is a devoted Christian nationalist. On her first full day as governor of South Dakota, she sponsored a church service in the Capitol rotunda. The event was billed as an “Inaugural Worship Service with Governor Noem,” explicitly tying this religious event to her inauguration and public office. Despite assurances that “all [were] welcome,” this event did not attempt to be an “interfaith” service; every aspect was decidedly Christian in nature. She has been called “America’s most pro-life governor”and promotes school prayer. She endorsed Trump’s discriminatory actions in his first administration to ban Muslims from seven countries from refugee programs and immigration and is expected to fall in lockstep with Trump on a renewal of these bans.

John Ratcliffe — CIA
Ratcliffe was previously one of Trump’s national intelligence directors and contributed to Project 2025. The playbook’s chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe’s chief of staff in the first Trump administration. As a key figure in the first Trump administration, Ratcliffe was part of an environment that frequently appealed to Christian nationalist themes, such as prioritizing “religious freedom” and invoking Christian imagery in political messaging.

Vivek Ramaswamy — Department of Government Efficiency
Despite being a Hindu, Ramaswamy is a promoter of Christian nationalism. During a town hall, he declared, “Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values, there’s no doubt about it. It is a historical fact.” This appointment does not require Senate confirmation.

Elise Stefanik — United Nations
While introducing Mike Johnson in 2023 as her nominee for House speaker, Stefanik said to a standing ovation by her party: “Above the speaker’s chair in the House chamber is our nation’s motto: In God We Trust. The times in which we are living demand boldness, unity, and transformational leadership that begins with trust in God and each other. Trust is when the magic happens. In the story of King David, we are reminded that man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Russell Vought — Office of Management and Budget 
Vought’s tenure as OMB director from 2020 to 2021 and his actions since make it clear that his leadership would entrench a Christian nationalist agenda in the federal government — undermining the constitutional principle of state/church separation and radically endangering our secular nation. Read our breakdown of how this key architect of Project 2025 plans to unleash hell in the second Trump administration.

Dave Weldon — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Weldon, described as “an outspoken critic of the CDC and its vaccine program” and an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been tapped to head the agency at a time when bird flu, mpox and a spike in whooping cough and measles threaten public health. During his tenure in Congress, he championed religious and anti-abortion causes.

Lee Zeldin — Environmental Protection Agency
The former member of Congress, who is part of the America First Policy Institute founded to promote Trump’s agenda, received a 14 percent lifetime score from League of Conservation Voters, a national environmental advocacy group. He opposes replacing lead service lines, one of EPA’s tasks, and voted against the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Like Miller, Zeldin is a prominent Jewish ally.

“FFRF is prepared to stand firm against these nominations, which signal a dangerous turn toward religious theocracy,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The rights of nonreligious Americans, religious minorities and marginalized groups are threatened by Trump’s attempt to impose one narrow religious worldview on the entire nation.”

FFRF will continue to monitor and oppose these nominations, provide the public with the facts, and take legal action when necessary to protect the constitutional principle of religious freedom for all Americans. FFRF encourages its members and supporters to stay informed, get involved in the fight to protect religious liberty for all and to contact their senators in opposition to nominations needing Senate confirmation. Sign up for action alerts from FFRF Action Fund.