MORMON BLOWBACK: The Pentagon has adjusted a list of religious denominations for active service members following backlash from Mormon lawmakers in Congress.
Following up on a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year, the Department of Defense announced Friday that it reduced the number of religious designations that service members can register for from 200 to 31. He said the old system was “impractical,” with many designations not being used at all.
But the updated list received criticism over the weekend from multiple Utah members of Congress, who protested that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) was not labeled under “Christian.”
“I find this offensive, not just because that happens to be my faith, and not just because that happens to be the faith of tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel, but it’s also just repugnant to any sense of decency, any sense of our common heritage and our common belief that the government needs to not weigh in on doctrinal disputes between various religious denominations,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in a post on the social platform X.
An updated list shared Monday includes just 30 faith codes, including LDS, with no specification for which ones fall under Christian denomination.
“Last week, a proposed list of simplified faith codes was released to the media. The Pentagon list included redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed,” the Pentagon said on X.
The updated list allows service members to identify as various Christian denominations or as Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Bahá’i or agnostic. Other past options such as atheist, pagan and humanist have been left out.
▪ Deseret News: How Utah lawmakers worked to get the list changed.
▪ The Hill: Senate Dem unveils bill to restrict Pentagon AI use.
MAKING IT OFFICIAL: Trump formally submitted his nomination for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to become the permanent leader of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday, potentially setting up a contentious confirmation fight in the Senate.
Blanche has led the DOJ in an acting capacity for the past two months since Trump fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi. Blanche previously served as the DOJ's No. 2.
He was confirmed as deputy attorney general last year in a party-line vote, but his tenure as acting head at the department could raise some new questions.
The DOJ’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund for alleged victims of political prosecution stirred bipartisan backlash. Though the fund has been dropped, Blanche said he wouldn’t withdraw a memo barring the IRS from auditing any of Trump’s tax returns or those of his family and businesses.
Blanche has also faced controversy for prosecutions under his watch, including a new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey and the civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center.
▪ ProPublica: Blanche’s office shut down probe into GOP senator’s companies.
‘IT’S COMING’: White House border czar Tom Homan signaled federal officials are planning the largest-ever deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in New York City.
“You are going to see more ICE agents than you have ever seen in New York City. And it’s coming. I just reviewed an operational plan. I’m not going to tell you exactly when it’s going to happen, but it’s coming,” Homan said Monday on “Fox & Friends.”
Homan’s comments came in response to a legislative package that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed last month to create restrictions on federal immigration authorities and limit cooperation.
The measures ban law enforcement officers from wearing masks, prevents state and local law enforcement from engaging in civil immigration enforcement, and prohibit federal authorities from using state and local facilities for the purposes of immigration enforcement.
With Hochul’s signature, New York joined a few other left-leaning states such as New Jersey and Virginia with similar laws.
▪ Politico: IRS failed to match taxpayer records with ICE data accurately.
▪ The Guardian: The collapse of a case against ICE protesters.
EXCEEDING AUTHORITY: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from charging $100,000 for H1-B visa applications, agreeing with Democratic-led states that it didn’t have the power to impose the fee.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said in his ruling that the fee is essentially levying a tax, a power that the Constitution provides to Congress.
H1-B visas allow employers to hire international talent for specific jobs, permitting those hired to stay in the U.S. for three years, though they are not lawful permanent residents. Fees for new visa applications are generally paid by employers, and the administration has argued that the heightened fee encourages employers to hire Americans.
Trump issued a proclamation adding the new $100,000 fee in September. A judge rejected a separate legal challenge to the fee last year.
▪ The Hill: Administration seeks to revoke citizenship of 17 foreign-born Americans.
