Overview

• The IRS joined two Texas churches and the National Religious Broadcasters Association in filing for a consent judgment to carve out pulpit endorsements from the Johnson Amendment.
• The agency’s filing argues that sermons endorsing candidates resemble private “family discussions” and therefore do not constitute prohibited campaign intervention.
• This request formalizes the IRS’s longstanding practice of largely overlooking electoral speech by houses of worship under the current tax code.
• Critics warn that exempting church endorsements could weaken campaign finance safeguards by enabling undisclosed, tax-advantaged political activity.
• The consent judgment must be approved by a federal judge before churches can be permanently shielded from penalties for endorsing candidates.