President Donald Trump said Monday that divine intervention put him in the White House at the moment when the United States will host the 2026 World Cup, the 2028 Summer Olympics and the country's 250th Independence Day, and he used a Department of Justice-backed hearing to announce forthcoming federal guidance protecting student prayer and religious expression in public schools.
Speaking at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., Trump told a room of faith leaders and commission members, "Isn't it amazing the way God works?" He said deals he negotiated during his first term brought the FIFA World Cup to North America and the International Olympic Committee's 2028 vote to stage the Summer Games in Los Angeles, and suggested that his return to office was part of a plan to see those events through. He repeated his long-held assertion that the 2020 election was "rigged" by "very bad people." Trump announced that the Department of Education will soon release updated guidance on protected prayer and religious expression in public schools, the first issuance of such guidance since 2003.
The morning session was the second hearing of the newly formed Religious Liberties Commission, which operates under the Justice Department and is charged with producing a report in spring 2026 on how to protect religious exercise in public schools. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick chairs the commission; Trump’s first-term Housing and Urban Development secretary Dr. Ben Carson serves as vice chair. Also on the panel were figures including Dr. Phil McGraw, Pastor Franklin Graham and Pastor Paula White.
Trump invited a 12-year-old California student, Shea Encinas, to the podium to describe what the boy and his family consider an infringement on religious liberty. Encinas told the audience that when he was in fifth grade he was assigned to read a short book and video called "My Shadow Is Pink" to a kindergarten classmate as part of a "kinderbuddy" program. He said the material described gender as a matter of feelings and that his family objected on religious grounds. Encinas said his family’s objections led to bullying and adverse treatment by the school district.
The Encinas family and another family sued, contending the school district violated their First Amendment right to direct their children's religious upbringing. On May 13, U.S. District Judge James Lorenz ruled in favor of the families and ordered the Encinitas Union School District to provide notifications and opt-out opportunities for gender-identity topics, a decision the families cited during Monday's hearing.
Trump used the platform to praise a presidential executive order he said he signed on "Day One" of his administration to cut federal funding to schools that, in his words, push "transgender ideology" on students. "On Day One of my administration, I signed an executive order to slash federal funding for any school that pushes transgender insanity on our youth," he told the crowd.
Three other students spoke before Trump arrived, recounting separate incidents they described as infringements on religious expression at public schools. Lydia Booth said she was barred from wearing a "Jesus Loves Me" mask when schools returned from COVID-19 lockdown in Mississippi. Justin Aguilar recounted that his school sought to prevent him from mentioning Jesus in his valedictorian address. Valerie Cleveringa said school officials tried to stop her and her brother from singing songs that referenced God during a talent show.
Commission members and administration officials framed the hearing as part of a broader effort to clarify the rights of students, teachers and school personnel to engage in religious expression without government retaliation. The Department of Education's forthcoming guidance is intended to update federal direction last issued in 2003, officials said, although the White House provided few immediate details about the scope of the changes or their timeline.
Religious-liberty advocates at the hearing urged greater protections for student prayer, religious speech and parental notification when schools present gender-related content. Civil liberties and LGBTQ advocacy groups have argued that heightened protections for religious expression must be balanced against the constitutional rights of other students, including protections against discrimination. Monday's hearing did not include representatives from those organizations.
The Religious Liberties Commission is expected to submit a formal report next spring outlining recommendations for protecting religious exercise in public schools. The announcement of new Department of Education guidance and the administration’s public embrace of the families who sued the Encinitas district underscored the administration's focus on religious-rights issues in K-12 education as part of its broader domestic policy agenda.
Officials at the Museum of the Bible event said the commission will continue to gather testimony nationwide ahead of its 2026 report. Trump and commission members emphasized a view that federal policy should more robustly protect the ability of students, teachers and staff to pray and display religious beliefs at public schools, while critics say such changes could complicate school duties to protect all students' civil rights.