WA law mandating clergy report child abuse to be investigated by Trump's Justice Department [View all]

President Trump’s Department of Justice is investigating a new Washington state law that makes clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse, arguing it violates the First Amendment.

The state legislation was signed into law on Friday, May 2, by Gov. Bob Ferguson. It means church leaders will now be required to report child abuse or neglect to authorities, and unlike many other states, it mandates that clergy do so even if they learned of the allegations during a confession.

The Justice Department said it would open a civil rights investigation “into the development and passage” of the bill, “which appears on its face to violate the First Amendment.”

In a statement Tuesday evening, Ferguson stood by the legislation.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/05/05/wa-law-mandating-clergy-report-child-abuse-to-be-investigated-by-trumps-justice-department/

The Trump administration is pro child abuse. Ferguson is Catholic BTW.