The IRS finally did something right. In a new court filing, the IRS has stated that churches can now endorse political candidates to their congregations. The move by the IRS came after President Trump repeatedly called for the Johnson Amendment to be repealed. In case you’re unfamiliar with the Johnson Amendment, it’s “a provision in the U.S. tax code that prohibits 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations, such as charities and churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates.” The New York Times had these details to report on the IRS’s decision: The I.R.S. said on Monday that churches and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates to their congregations, carving out an exemption in a decades-old ban on political activity by tax-exempt nonprofits. The agency made that statement in a court filing intended to settle a lawsuit filed by two Texas churches and an association of Christian broadcasters. The plaintiffs that sued the I.R.S. had previously asked a federal court in Texas to create an even broader exemption — to rule that all nonprofits, religious and secular, were free to endorse candidates to their members. That would have erased a bedrock idea of American nonprofit law: that tax-exempt groups cannot be used as tools of any campaign. Instead, the I.R.S. agreed to a narrower carveout — one that experts in nonprofit law said might sharply increase politicking in churches, even though it mainly seemed to formalize what already seemed to be the agency’s unspoken policy. The agency said that if a house of worship endorsed a candidate to its congregants, the I.R.S. would view that not as campaigning but as a private matter, like “a family discussion concerning candidates.” “Thus, communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted,” the agency said, in a motion filed jointly with the plaintiffs. The IRS says it will not remove your church’s 501c3 over candidate endorsements from the pulpit.https://t.co/bvjM5i9QsB — Jon Whitehead (@jrwhitehead) July 8, 2025 CBS reported on Trump’s previous comments on the Johnson Amendment: President Trump has said he wanted to get rid of the Johnson Amendment and signed an executive order in 2017 directing Treasury to disregard the rule. “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution,” Trump said at a National Prayer Breakfast in 2017, which is a high-profile event bringing together faith leaders, politicians and dignitaries. Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to scrap the Johnson Amendment. Watch Trump here: PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think it’s just an incredible job that you do. And sometimes you’re not appreciated by the Fake News Media. Sometimes you’re scorned by the Fake News Media… We’re going to try to get rid of the Johnson Amendment permanently so that you have a voice. pic.twitter.com/y5vbFpNonG — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 28, 2024 And again: SHOTS FIRED!TRUMP: “I will get rid of and TOTALLY DESTROY the Johnson Amendment” pic.twitter.com/J4QfNixkQs — TrumpSoldier (@DaveNYviii) February 2, 2017