Trump taps former missionary, Catholic bishop for religious commission

The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Wednesday welcomed three new members appointed by President Donald Trump. The new members were Catholic bishop Robert Barron, former White House adviser Joe Grogan, and former missionary Andrew Brunson. The commission’s nine volunteer voting members serve two-year terms and make policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and Congress. They can be reappointed once.

Brunson is a pastor who formerly served as a missionary in Turkey for 23 years. The Turkish government arrested him in 2016 on what the U.S. government said were false charges and detained him for two years. It convicted him of aiding terrorism and only released him after U.S. diplomatic pressure. Brunson now leads WaveStarters, a ministry focused on persecuted Christians worldwide.

Barron is the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. He previously served on the Religious Liberty Commission, which focuses on domestic policy issues. Barron also founded Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

Grogan is the former director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council and a former assistant to President Trump. He has broad experience in public policy and healthcare, according to the commission, and is a visiting senior scholar at the University of Southern California's Schaeffer Institute.

Who’s already on the commission?

• Asif Mahmood, advocate for human rights and homeless services.

• CeCe Heil, international legal director for the American Center for Law and Justice. She helped secure Brunson’s release.

• David A. Anderson, pastor, radio host, and founder of Gracism Global.

• Gunisha Kaur, physician and scientist with a focus on human rights.

• Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

• Gene Mills, president of public policy group Louisiana Family Forum.

Dig deeper: Read my report on Trump’s recent nomination of Franklin Graham’s daughter to serve as international religious freedom ambassador.