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White House Religious Liberty Commission Member Removed After Hijacking Antisemitism Hearing

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  February 12, 2026 5:30 PM

Carrie Prejean Boller, a member of the new White House Religious Liberty Commission, has formally been removed from the commission as of Wednesday, sparking a firestorm on social media.

Boller sparked controversy earlier this week, for spending the majority of her time during a religious liberty hearing bashing Israel, defending Candice Owens, Tucker Carlson, and claiming that anti-Zionism is not the same as anti-Semitism. She was also seen wearing a Palestinian flag pin.

It remains unclear how Boller was qualified to be on the commission, given her professional background appears to be becoming Miss California in 2009 and a runner-up for Miss USA. She attributes her loss of the Miss USA title to openly stating that marriage should be between a man and a woman, which in 2009, was a popular position.

Dan Patrick, the Lt. Governor of Texas and the Chair of the commission announced her removal on X, writing:

Carrie Prejean Boller has been removed from President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue. This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America. This was my decision.

Adding:

The President respects all faiths. He believes that all Americans have a right to receive the great inheritance given to them by our founding fathers in the First Amendment. 

I am grateful to President Trump for having the vision and boldness to create this Commission. Fighting for the Word of God and religious freedom is what this nation was founded upon. Leading this fight will be one of his greatest legacies.

Boller blasted the statement on social media, arguing that the commission chair did not have the authority to remove her and claiming she was being "bullied for following [her] Catholic conscience."

"As the name states, this is President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, not yours," she wrote on X. "You did not appoint me to the Commission, and you lack authority to remove me from it. This is a gross overstepping of your role and leads me to believe you are acting in alignment with a Zionist political framework that hijacked the hearing, rather than in defense of religious liberty."

You are speaking without authority, and it is clear your actions reflect a Zionist political agenda, not the President’s, not the U.S. Constitution’s, and not the purpose of this Commission. I know @POTUS cares deeply about religious freedom, which is why he appointed me. Your attempt to remove me for my deeply held religious beliefs while I was serving on a Religious Liberty Commission directly contradicts the mission of this body: protecting Religious Liberty, including that of devout Catholics like myself who reject Zionism.

Candace Owens chimed in as well, declaring that the hearing was nothing more than a "performative Zionist hearing meant to neuter the Christian faith." She later reposted a person on X, who argued that under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, Catholicism was anti-Semitic.

"Carrie didn’t hijack anything. You hosted a performative Zionist hearing meant to neuter the Christian faith," Owens wrote. "Carrie spoke truth, as a Catholic, and Christians, the Truth cannot be defeated. Zionists are naturally hostile to Catholics because we refuse to bend the knee to revisionist history and support the mass slaughter and rape of innocent children for occult Baal worshipers. Your decision will only further the Christian enlightenment which is taking place in this country."

This comes as fringes of the right are increasingly using the terms 'Zionist' and 'Jew' interchangeably, weaponizing opposition to Zionism to peddle and legitimize anti-Semitism. Growing segments of the online right have also begun claiming that Christianity is inherently incompatible with Judaism, using their religious identity as a shield for anti-Semitic beliefs. 

American attitudes toward Israel have also shifted, with younger Americans, including many young conservatives, expressing overwhelmingly negative views of the country. The Wall Street Journal writes:

Most of the change in Republican sentiment has occurred among Republicans under 50, whose negative share has risen from 35 percent to 50 percent. Among Republicans 50 and older, the share with negative views has barely budged and now stands at 23 percent.

While many conservatives recognize that Christians and Jews share a common spiritual heritage as brethren, tensions have emerged over the line between political critique and religious loyalty. 

The president has yet to weigh in on Boller's removal.