The ACLU has already promised a lawsuit fighting President Trump's 'religious liberty' order

Almost immediately after President Trump signed an executive order Thursday protecting "religious liberty," the American Civil Liberties Union announced it will be filing a lawsuit fighting the order. In a statement, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero deemed Trump's order — which promises to "protect and vigorously promote religious liberty" — a "broadside to the country's longstanding commitment to the separation of church and state."

"President Trump's efforts to promote religious freedom are thinly-veiled efforts to unleash his conservative religious base into the political arena while also using religion to discriminate," Romero wrote in the statement. "It's a dual dose of pandering to a base and denying reproductive care. We will see Trump in court, again." The ACLU previously sued over Trump's immigration executive order, which temporarily blocked people from multiple predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

Though Trump's order will not roll back anti-LGBT discrimination rules as was proposed in a draft, it does offer "regulatory relief" for faith-based employers mandated to offer contraception coverage in health-care plans. It also proposes reducing the "burden" of the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits tax-exempt churches and organizations from actively supporting political candidates.

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