By Elise Winland Published November 21, 2025 Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., opened a Nov. 20 congressional hearing with a stark assessment of Beijing’s campaign against faith: China’s escalating assault on religious believers is both a moral crisis and a direct threat to U.S. national security. Smith began the hearing — titled “China’s War on Religion: The Threat to Religious Freedom and Why It Matters to the United States” — by underscoring the immediacy of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) repres... Read more

By Madalaine Elhabbal Published November 21, 2025 at 14:40 PM A Nigerian Catholic bishop said U.S. military intervention is warranted at a Nov. 20 hearing of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa. The hearing took place just days after an attack on a Catholic boarding school in western Nigeria in which children were abducted from the school’s hostel. “Nigeria is ground zero” for religious persecution, said the subcommittee’s chair, Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, at the hearing. ... Read more

By Frances Martel Published November 21, 2025 Nigerian Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, of the diocese of Makurdi in Benue state, testified before the House of Representatives on Thursday, detailing the “gory” violence Christians face regularly in the country and thanking President Donald Trump for designating Nigeria a religious freedom danger zone. President Trump announced on October 31 that he would return Nigeria to the State Department’s Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious freedom list... Read more

By Katherine Hamilton Published November 21, 2025 U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) led 175 House Republicans in a letter demanding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) undo the Biden administration’s “mail-order abortion scheme” and investigate the potential safety risks of abortion pills. In 2021 under former President Joe Biden, the FDA removed the in-person dispensing requirement for abortion pills and allowed them ... Read more

The following are excerpts of Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee’s November 20th hearing, entitled “President Trump’s Redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’: A Serious, Well-Founded Wake-Up Call”: Welcome to this critical hearing on the systematic and accelerating violence against predominantly Christian communities in Nigeria. This is my 12th hearing focused exclusively on Nigeria—with scores of other hearings... Read more

The following are excerpts of Co-Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)’s November 20th hearing, entitled “China’s War on Religion: The Threat to Religious Freedom and Why it Matters to the United States”: Thank you, Senator Sullivan, and good morning, everyone. I’m very glad the CECC is holding this hearing, and to be working with you on this critical—and indeed, urgent—issue that is so close to my heart. I say urgent because, ... Read more

By Efrat Lachter Published November 20, 2025 at 7:09 PM EST The U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa held a hearing Thursday on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria in what subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith, R-N.J., described as the "systematic and accelerating violence against predominantly Christian communities in Nigeria." Members from both parties questioned administration officials and outside experts as witness after witness described the collapse of security, mass killings, kidnappings a... Read more

By Jeff Mordock and Mike Glenn Published Thursday, November 20, 2025 China’s crackdown on religious freedom, including recent arrests of Christian church members, represents a national security threat to the U.S. and must be met with a powerful response, a coalition of experts told lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill. Former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, who served as ambassador-at-large for religious freedom in the first Trump administration, urged lawmakers to shift from viewing Beijing’s religiou... Read more

By Mike Glenn Published Thursday, November 20, 2025 Nigeria remains the deadliest place on earth to be a practising Christian. More believers are killed there every year than in the rest of the world combined, a Catholic prelate from Nigeria told lawmakers in Congress on Thursday. Bishop Wilfred C. Anagbe said violence against Christians in the West African country is rampant, particularly from Islamist groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province. A recent report from the N... Read more

By Chris Smith Published November 20, 2025 The following are Congressman Chris Smith’s remarks from Thursday’s congressional hearing. _ Welcome to this critical hearing on the systematic and accelerating violence against predominantly Christian communities in Nigeria. This is my 12th hearing focused exclusively on Nigeria—with scores of other hearings on human trafficking, religious freedom, food security and human rights focused in part on Nigeria. I’ve led three human rights trips to Nigeria. ... Read more