HHS Details Actions Taken to Support Americans of Faith in New Report

WASHINGTON— April 30, 2026 —The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today welcomes the release of the 2026 Report of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. The report describes how prior administration policies, in effect, burdened the religious liberty and conscience rights of Christians and other Americans of faith, and details the sweeping corrective actions that HHS has already taken under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership. HHS contributed substantially to the report as one of the principal member departments of the Task Force.

“The Trump administration is restoring a fundamental promise: Americans will never have to choose between their faith and their livelihood,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Federal policy treated conscience rights as optional. We are changing that. At HHS, we enforce the law, protect religious liberty, and make clear that people of faith have the same rights as every other American.”

“Under the Trump Administration, no American should be forced to check their religion at the door to work in government, serve patients, or support families,” said Admiral Brian Christine, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) and Head of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps.

“OCR is done treating conscience rights as second-class rights,” said Paula M. Stannard, Director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights. “We are enforcing the conscience protection laws Congress enacted, clearing out defective guidance, opening investigations where warranted, and giving the public clear notice that HHS will take conscience and religious liberty seriously.”

To accompany the report, HHS has created a snapshot of its robust efforts to address prior HHS policies and enforcement decisions that had the effect of leaving conscience rights and religious liberty inadequately protected for people of faith.

The complete 2026 Report of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, including actions taken by HHS, is available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1438506/dl.

For more information about related efforts, visit the HHS Office for Civil Rights’ conscience and religious freedom webpage.

If you believe that you or someone else has been discriminated against because of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, religion, or the exercise of conscience in programs or activities that HHS directly operates or for which HHS provides federal financial assistance, you may file a complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

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