‘We do not have plans to sign anything at this time but will let you know when we have any updates,’ Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokesperson, tells ABC News.
A draft of the order was leaked to The Investigative Fund and The Nation and quickly denounced by LGBT organizations.
The four-page draft is titled ‘Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom.’
It calls for religious freedom ‘when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with Federal, State or local governments.’
The draft creates exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage and trans identity as well as premarital sex and abortion.
ABC News was told by White House officials that the draft appears to be among the hundreds of possible Executive Orders that are circulating.
These orders have been drafted by the Trump transition team, the White House policy team or by outside groups.
The administration claims that not all the orders reflect administration thinking or likely policy.
But LGBT organizations are ready for battle.
‘The reported Executive Order is a direct attack on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, everyone living with HIV, women, and all Americans who love liberty,’ Lambda Legal CEO Rachel B. Tiven said in a statement today.
‘The immediate public outcry in response to the leaked order confirmed what we already know: people overwhelmingly reject discrimination against LGBT people and don’t want taxpayer money to fund hatred. Bigotry—whether against LGBT people, women, Muslim immigrants or refugees—has no place in our country.
‘The Administration needs to stand down.’
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