Judge Halts Church Endorsements Lawsuit

0:00A federal judge and Tyler just shut down a big lawsuit aiming to let churches back political candidates without risking their tax exempt status. This hits hard for the Trump team and conservatives pushing to scrap the Johnson Amendment that 1954 law blocking non-profits from. Endorsing office seekers The case flipped under different admins, Biden's Justice Department tried to drop it late last year, but Trump revived it and joined the churches side. Trump has pushed a deal where the IRS wouldn't enforce the rule against these specific spots, which could have opened the floodgates for pulpit politics. Folks are split on the fallout. Groups like Americans united for separation of church and state cheered the ruling as a win for keeping religion out of elections. Meanwhile, some conservative pastors were already hyping endorsements, though others like Catholic bishops planned to stay neutral. Trump appointed Judge Campbell Archer said he couldn't sign off because federal tax rules block judges from halting uncollected taxes, plaintiffs got to pay.

1:02Up first, or fight revocations another way, he made it clear agreement or not this court wasn't the spot. Enforcement has always been light anyway, with violations popping up unchecked across admins. This keeps the amendment intact for now, but expect more challenges down the line as the debate heats up. From your city, powered by AI, this is El Paso News today.