On September 25, 2026, FFRF filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in the case National Religious Broadcasters v. Bessent. The Plaintiffs, a group of religious nonprofits, challenge the applicability of the Johnson Amendment to their organizations, claiming the Amendment violates their First Amendment rights. The Johnson Amendment prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches and religious nonprofits, from endorsing or opposing political candidates as a condition of their tax-exempt status. However, the Johnson Amendment has never been enforced against these churches, nor has the Government threatened to do so.
FFRF’s brief outlines three main arguments. First, the Plaintiffs do not have standing to bring this lawsuit. In order to have standing, the Plaintiffs must have been injured by the law they are challenging, or, in First Amendment challenges, the Government must have threatened to enforce the law against them. Since neither has occurred in this case, the Plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the Johnson Amendment. Second, there is no genuine adversity between the parties for the Court to resolve. The Defendant, Scott Bessent, joined the Plaintiffs in asking the district court to hold the Johnson Amendment inapplicable to the plaintiffs. Since the Constitution requires adversity, the court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate this case. Third, this case is not ripe for adjudication as the Plaintiffs ask the court to rule based on speculation of what may or may not happen in the future.
This brief was drafted by Legal Intern Emma Hanson and filed with the assistance of Legal Director Patrick Elliott.
