A contentious dispute has erupted within the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission following a controversial hearing on antisemitism that led to the dismissal of one of its members. Carrie Prejean Boller, the former Miss California, finds herself at the center of a storm after challenging witnesses during a commission hearing, though she maintains her removal was unlawful.
The controversy began during a Monday hearing titled “Religious Liberty Implications of Anti-Semitism,” where Boller questioned several witnesses about their definitions of antisemitism and whether opposition to Zionism automatically constitutes hatred toward Jewish people. Her line of questioning sparked intense reactions from both witnesses and fellow commission members.
During her exchanges with witnesses, Boller confronted Yeshiva University President Ari Berman about the relationship between Catholicism and Zionism. She stated that Catholics do not embrace Zionism and asked whether this meant all Catholics should be considered antisemitic. Berman responded by suggesting that anyone identifying as anti-Zionist demonstrates a double standard and takes antisemitic positions.
Boller also cited New York Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro during her questioning of law student Yitzchok Frankel, quoting the rabbi’s assertion that Zionist ideology wrongly claims Israel represents all Jews globally and that this framing is inherently antisemitic because it imposes collective responsibility on Jews for actions beyond their control. Frankel maintained that opposition to Zionism equals antisemitism.
The exchanges grew particularly heated when Boller questioned activist Shabbos Kestenbaum, who previously sued Harvard over alleged failures to protect students from antisemitism. She noted that Israel had been mentioned seventeen times during the hearing and asked whether Kestenbaum would condemn Israeli actions in Gaza. This prompted commission chairman Dan Patrick, who also serves as Texas Lieutenant Governor, to intervene.
Following the hearing, prominent pro-Israel voices on social media called for Boller’s resignation or termination. Some critics challenged her authority to speak broadly about Catholic positions on Zionism and Israel. By Wednesday, Patrick announced through social media that Boller had been removed from the commission, stating that no member has the right to hijack hearings for personal political agendas.
Boller quickly disputed the removal, arguing in an open letter that Patrick lacks the authority to dismiss her. She emphasized that the commission was established by President Trump, not Patrick, and that she was not appointed by Patrick. She accused Zionist perspectives of actually hijacking the hearing rather than her questions derailing it.
In her response, Boller argued that nearly every witness had already framed antisemitism through the lens of Israel and Zionism, and that requiring people to affirm Zionism violates religious freedom principles. As a Catholic, she asserted her constitutional and religious rights not to endorse a political ideology or government engaged in what she characterized as mass civilian casualties and starvation.
Boller declared she would attend next month’s commission meeting and stated she refuses to subordinate herself to Israel, instead serving only Christ. She insisted that Zionist supremacy has no place on an American Religious Liberty commission.
The former beauty pageant contestant gained conservative credentials in 2009 when she told a Miss USA judge that marriage should be between a man and a woman, a statement she believes cost her the title. She subsequently wrote a book about the incident and media treatment of conservative women.
President Trump established the White House Religious Liberty Commission on May 1, 2025, tasking it with recommending measures to protect domestic religious liberty and identifying ways to promote religious freedom internationally. Dr. Ben Carson serves as vice chair, with members including Franklin Graham, Dr. Phil McGraw, and televangelist Paula White.
This dispute reflects broader tensions within Republican and conservative circles regarding American support for Israel, with generational divides emerging between older Republicans who view Israel support as fundamental and younger conservatives questioning whether such support conflicts with warnings against foreign entanglements.