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A coalition of federal lawmakers today urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate four states whose laws prohibit religious exemptions for school vaccine mandates.
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, lawmakers warned that vaccine mandate laws in New York, California, Maine and Connecticut violate the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause.
Lawmakers also asked the DOJ to intervene in two New York lawsuits where Children’s Health Defense (CHD) is either a plaintiff or is financing the case.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) is the lead author of the letter, which is also addressed to Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights.
As of this afternoon, 13 Congress members had signed the letter.
“Religious freedom is the cornerstone of our Republic,” Steube said in a statement to The Defender. “It is inexcusable that New York, California, Maine, and Connecticut refuse to provide people of faith with a religious exemption from their vaccine mandates. This is not only a direct violation of the Free Exercise Clause, but it is also a grave assault on civil liberties.”
He added:
“Your constitutional rights should never take a backseat to a vaccine mandate. That is why I am requesting Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon launch formal investigations of all states that continue to violate the constitutional rights of the American people via coercion and infringement on their religious beliefs.”
Allowing the four states to violate citizens’ constitutional rights has emboldened states like Massachusetts and Hawaii, which are considering eliminating religious exemptions for vaccines, to “further encroach upon Americans’ rights,” according to the lawmakers.
The four states make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population, said Cait Corrigan, a former congressional candidate from New York and a medical freedom advocate who helped raise awareness at the federal level and worked with Steube’s office on the effort.
Corrigan said she hopes the DOJ will intervene in “the tragedy that is happening in these four states.”
U.S. Supreme Court has provided clear guidance on religious freedom
In their letter, Steube and his colleagues argued that in two recent decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has provided clear guidance on First Amendment rights.
In a June 2025 Supreme Court decision, Mahmoud v. Taylor, the court sided with parents who wanted to opt their children out of LGBTQ-themed elementary school books due to their religious beliefs.
The Supreme Court’s ruling reaffirmed the Free Exercise Clause, requiring public schools to provide opt-out mechanisms for parents who object to certain requirements on religious grounds.
Soon after, the Supreme Court vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit’s ruling in Miller v. McDonald. The case involved members of an Amish community who challenged New York’s vaccine mandate.
In a victory for the Amish families, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.
New York’s actions ‘not only immoral,’ they are ‘unlawful’
While the letter raises concerns about all four states, it focuses particular attention on New York.
Lawmakers allege that the New York Department of Health targeted pediatric physicians through its “School Vaccination Fraud Awareness” campaign. The campaign, which publicly named doctors, was an attempt by the state to intimidate providers who grant exemptions from vaccine mandates.
New York is treating doctors “as though they engaged in criminal wrongdoing,” without due process, the lawmakers said. Those actions could discourage physicians from exercising independent medical judgment.
The lawmakers also asked the DOJ to intervene in two lawsuits filed in New York:
1. Children’s Health Defense v. McDonald: On Dec. 15, 2025, CHD and a group of parents sued the state of New York in federal court. The lawsuit asks the court to rule that the state’s 2019 law that repealed religious exemptions is unconstitutional.
2. Doe v. Oceanside: On April 17, 2025, Sarah Doe, a teenager, and her mother, Jane Doe, sued a New York school district for denying the teen a medical exemption for the third hepatitis B vaccine after seven different doctors and medical practitioners said the teen shouldn’t get the vaccine due to her serious medical conditions.
On Aug. 8, 2025, a New York federal judge granted a preliminary injunction allowing Sarah to return to classes in September, pending the outcome of her suit. CHD is funding the lawsuit.
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“We are grateful that members of Congress have recognized these cases, which starkly illustrate how severe the situation has become in New York,” said attorney Sujata Gibson, who represents plaintiffs in both cases.
She said that families across New York are being forced into the same “impossible position” as Sarah Doe, who is a plaintiff in both cases. “As members of Congress correctly recognize, this is not only immoral — it is unlawful.”
Gibson added:
“Department of Justice intervention is essential to restore the constitutional balance that has been lost. Families cannot be left to shoulder these profound burdens alone while fundamental religious liberty and parental rights are disregarded.
“We are hopeful that the Department will carefully consider the request from members of Congress and take appropriate action to protect the rights at stake.”
The Congress members wrote that these cases “present an appropriate opportunity for Department of Justice intervention.”
“The agency’s investigation in these cases would help ensure that religious families are not singled out for exclusion from education and that states do not evade constitutional limits by allowing school officials to substitute their judgment for that of parents and physicians,” the lawmakers wrote.
Related articles in The Defender- Breaking: Children’s Health Defense Sues New York in Bid to Restore Religious Exemptions
- ‘Checkmate’: U.S. Supreme Court Delivers Huge Win for Religious Exemptions
- Two New York Families Sue Schools for Denying Medical Vaccine Exemptions
- CHD Threatens Legal Action Against New York Schools That Deny Medical Exemptions
- Judge Rules in Favor of Teen in Medical Exemption Lawsuit Funded by Children’s Health Defense
- Mom, Teen Sue School That Refused to Grant Hep B Vaccine Medical Exemption
- Public Support for Religious Exemptions Nearly Doubled Over Past 6 Years
