(Photo Al Drago)
Republican lawmakers turned to Christian principles while calling on President Donald Trump to use foreign policy to address religious persecution in Islamic countries.
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and West Virginia Rep. Riley Moore both filed resolutions in July beseeching Trump to make the protection of Christian minorities a foreign policy priority when dealing with Muslim-majority countries. Moore also introduced a House resolution in November to condemn Christian persecution in Nigeria and to support Trump in taking action after thousands of Christians were slaughtered. This followed Trump designating Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern on Oct. 31 and asking the congressman to help lead an investigation.
Hawley spoke on the policy shift Tuesday at the Emergency Summit on Crimes Against Christians hosted by For the Martyrs at the Capitol building and attended by the Daily Caller. He was accompanied by other GOP lawmakers.
The senator recounted founding principles, cited scripture and recalled data on persecution to explain why such a bill needs to be approved in a speech that sounded more like a Southern Baptist sermon.
“What a privilege it is to gather here in the United States Capitol and to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ,” Hawley said, acknowledging that many would find his statement offensive. “This nation was founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ. And is there any greater witness to that that we can gather here in this capital, in this hall, that is the hall of the people, and proclaim, proclaim in freedom that Jesus Christ is Lord?”
Attendees gathered for the event offered their “amens” and cheers as Hawley cited scriptures — Revelation 12:11 and Psalm 116:15 — regarding the “power of the persecuted church” and the “death of his saints.”
At today’s Emergency Summit on Crimes Against Christians, a vibrant prayer was offered after news that @RepMarkWalker’s confirmation as Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom faces yet another delay.
The prayer asked God to “open up” his confirmation, which has… pic.twitter.com/FCnzj0VF2n
— Derek VanBuskirk (@DerekVBK) December 9, 2025
Hawley said the main purpose of the emergency summit was to bear witness to the faith of Christian martyrs around the world and to make sure such faith is not “swept under the rug” and forgotten.
Hawley then shared statistics on the global persecution of Christians, citing 380 million Christians being actively persecuted around the world today, 4,476 Christians murdered for their faith last year, another 4,744 Christians imprisoned for their faith last year and 7,679 Christian churches attacked in 2025. These numbers matched those reported by U.K. Parliament’s House of Commons Library.
Although the persecution in Nigeria took center stage at the summit, other Islamic-majority counties including Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Somalia were all mentioned with regard to persecution of Christians.
“What is it that we are willing to do, for the persecuted church, and what is it we are willing to do for the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world and in this country?” Hawley asked, adding that it is a lie to say that faith must be checked at the door in politics.
Hawley then shifted gears from covering broad principles to proposing specific U.S. policy positions, saying that “there is a moral element to our foreign policy, that there is a moral obligation that we as Americans bear, and we are willing to bear it. We are willing to witness to it, and we are willing to see it through in this day.”
(FILES) Christian devotees sing during a Christmas mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Maiduguri on December 25, 2021. US President Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his threat of a military operation in Nigeria over killings of Christians, after the Nigerian presidency suggested a meeting to resolve the issue.
Asked by an AFP reporter aboard Air Force One if he was considering US troops on the ground in Nigeria or air strikes, Trump replied: “Could be, I mean, a lot of things — I envisage a lot of things.” (Photo by AUDU MARTE/AFP via Getty Images)som
“It is incumbent upon us as a nation to stand up for persecuted Christians,” Hawley said. “We need to deliver the message to every other country in this world that if you engage in the persecution of Christians, you will receive no support, no aid.”
“We will cut off American tax dollars. We will not do anything to help you, and in fact, you will have made an enemy of us,” Hawley continued. “This is our moral witness to the world.”
Republican New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith spoke as well, claiming that it was common practice to consider human rights in trade deals until former President Bill Clinton “delinked” morality from trade in 1994.
“So I have ability right now to relink trade with human rights across the board; we need especially religious freedom,” Smith said, expanding the sense of emergency to include communist human rights violations, including those perpetrated in China.
While in Benue, I met with dozens of Christians who were driven from their homes and subjected to horrific violence and now live in IDP camps.
They told harrowing stories that will remain with me for the rest of my life.
One woman was forced to watch as they killed her… pic.twitter.com/tK7usfxWD5
— Rep. Riley M. Moore (@RepRileyMoore) December 10, 2025
Moore did not attend the event, as he was at the funeral of National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who was killed in the capital in late November, according to a staffer who attended the summit. Moore had just returned from a congressional delegation to Nigeria.
The staffer noted that Moore had appealed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in October with the purpose of designating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” in a letter.
The representative said the U.S., as a Christian nation, has a duty to stand for persecuted Christians across the world, according to the staffer.
