Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick removed Carrie Prejean Boller from the White House Religious Liberty Commission after setting off a contentious hearing this week over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Ms. Prejean Boller, Miss California USA 2009 and a Miss USA 2009 runner-up, faced backlash and calls for her to resign after she wore a Palestinian flag pin, defended podcaster Candace Owens’ anti-Israel remarks, and called on other commissioners to condemn Israel’s actions against Gaza.
“No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue,” Commission Chairman Dan Patrick posted on X. “This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America. This was my decision. The Commission has done outstanding work through five hearings. Two more are scheduled. The testimony has been both illuminating and heartbreaking.”
Mr. Patrick, the lieutenant governor of Texas, said that during the Biden administration, Americans “of all faiths had their religious liberty not only stolen from them but were often punished for standing up for their faith, in education, the military, the private sector and even the ministry.”
He went on to say online that the commission will deliver this spring one of the “most important reports in American history directly to the President.”
He said, “The President respects all faiths. He believes that all Americans have a right to receive the great inheritance given to them by our founding fathers in the First Amendment. I am grateful to President Trump for having the vision and boldness to create this Commission.”
While her now former fellow commissioners were prepared to discuss antisemitism, Ms. Prejean Boller came to the hearing at Washington’s Museum of the Bible on Monday ready to have a religious argument.
“Are you willing to condemn what Israel has done in Gaza?” Ms. Prejean Boller grilled a witness who testified about experiencing antisemitism at Harvard. “You won’t condemn that? Just on the record.”
When the topic pivoted to Ms. Owens, Ms. Prejean Boller said, “I listen to her daily. … She’s not an antisemite. She just doesn’t support Zionism.”
Kelly Shackelford, who is president, CEO and Chief Counsel for First Liberty Institute and a member of the Commission, said Ms. Prejean Boller’s “attempt to hijack the Commission meeting … was intended to promote an antisemitic agenda, and that was disgusting.”
“First Liberty Institute proudly represents synagogues and other Jewish clients, and we will continue to represent their cause as a core part of our mission to defend all people of faith in America,” he said.
Ms. Prejean Boller defended her actions on Tuesday, saying on social media that the commission was threatening to remove her over her Catholic faith, which she had converted to in April.
“Can you even imagine this? A Religious Liberty Commission prepared to fire a commissioner for her Catholic faith?” she wrote. “If that happens, it proves their mission was never religious liberty, but a Zionist agenda. I refuse to resign.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations commended Ms. Prejean Boller, saying she used her previous post on the commission to “support religious freedom for all people and oppose all forms of religious bigotry.”
“We also condemn Texas Lt. Governor Patrick’s baseless and predictable decision to remove her from the commission for refusing to conflate antisemitism with criticism of the Israel apartheid government,” said CAIR.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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