On May 7, 2025, Congressman Ronny Jackson introduced the Reaffirming Every Servicemembers’ Trust of Religious Exemptions (RESTORE) Act. The proposed legislation aims to establish a formal review process within the Department of Defense. This initiative is intended to support Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive to reinstate servicemembers discharged for non-compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate by auditing how religious accommodation requests were managed under the Biden administration.
Congressman Jackson stated, “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are on a mission to fix what Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin did to our brave men and women in uniform.” He emphasized that the bill would grant authority to investigate and deliver justice to servicemembers who filed Religious Accommodation Requests related to the COVID-19 vaccine. According to Jackson, these individuals faced unjust consequences such as being overlooked for promotions and receiving unfair evaluations due to their religious beliefs.
Senator Ted Cruz also commented on the issue, stating, “American servicemembers are still facing unjust consequences for personal religious decisions that caused them to reject the Biden administration’s coercive COVID-19 vaccine mandates.” He expressed that under the RESTORE Act, these issues would be addressed for those affected in uniform.
The text of the bill is available for public access.
