Federal courts lack the authority to sign off on a deal between the IRS and religious organizations that would allow churches to engage in political speech while keeping their tax-exempt status, a federal district court in Texas said Tuesday.
National Religious Broadcasters and other religious groups and churches claimed the Johnson Amendment—which prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations from endorsing or proposing political campaigns—was unconstitutional. In July 2025, a proposed consent decree between the groups and the IRS allowed a church to engage in good faith communication to its congregation about politics during a religious service without violating the Johnson Amendment or losing their 501(c)(3) status.
However, this consent agreement is barred by the Anti-Injunction Act and the tax exception to the Declaratory Judgment Act, Judge J. Campbell Barker of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas said. The court couldn’t reach the merits of the case because the requested relief would restrain the assessment or collection of taxes, the judge said.
“For the reasons explained above, this case is dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction,” the opinion said.
Citing the US Supreme Court’s decision in Bob Jones University v. Simon, Barker rejected the agreement because such challenges generally must proceed through refund suits or other statutory procedures, which require that “tax consequences” occur first.
“Subject-matter jurisdiction is determined by the nature of the claims and parties in the operative complaint, not by consent during litigation,” Barker said.
National Religious Broadcasters, Kallman Legal Group PLLC, Citizens for Self-Governance, and Ramey & Flock PC represent the organizations.
The case is Nat’l Religious Broadcasters v. Bessent, E.D. Tex., No. 6:24-cv-00311, 3/31/26.
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