Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), the chairman of President Donald Trump‘s Religious Liberty Commission, removed a member following her heated exchanges with fellow members during a hearing about antisemitism.
During the hearing, which took place on Monday in Washington, D.C., the ousted member, Carrie Prejean Boller, defended political commentator Candace Owens, who frequently shares antisemitic conspiracy theories.
The hearing included various witnesses, including first-hand accounts of students and other people who said universities neglected to protect Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Boller had sharp exchanges with witnesses during the hearing. Seth Dillon, CEO of the conservative satirical site The Babylon Bee, which often mocks progressives, was there to testify that conservatives must push back against an increasing antisemitic movement on the right.
The former Religious Liberty Commission member contradicted him, asking if critics of Israel should be viewed as antisemitic. Dillon said no, but also claimed that context is essential.
He said that there are “people who try to conceal their antisemitism under the guise of merely criticizing Israel.”
Boller also wondered if social media sites should be pressured to ban Bible verse quotations that connect the death of Jesus Christ to Jews.
On top of this, she disagreed with Dillon’s criticisms of Owens, saying that she had never heard her say anything antisemitic.
“You should look up more of her statements,” Dillon stated.
He cited the various things Owens stated, such as when she said her critics were part “of the synagogue of Satan.”
On February 11, Patrick announced Boller’s removal from the commission, which Trump created in 2025, in an X post. He also stated that it was his call to remove this member.
“Carrie Prejean Boller has been removed from President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission,” he wrote on X. “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.”
Later that day, Boller took to X to challenge the Texas lieutenant governor’s authority to remove her, saying only Trump has the power to do that.
“As the name states, this is President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, not yours,” she declared.
“You did not appoint me to the Commission, and you lack authority to remove me from it,” Boller claimed. “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.
“We serve as equals on this Commission,” Boller pointed out. “Just as I cannot remove you, you cannot remove me.”
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