Gluesenkamp Perez Is Recruiting Members of Congress for Far-Right Bible Study
The Washington Democrat urged members of Congress to join an anti-LGBTQ+ ministry
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Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) is helping a right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical to recruit her fellow members of Congress, according to an invitation she signed and sent to House members.
Gluesenkamp Perez and a dozen other members invited colleagues to join them in a weekly Bible study meeting led by Ralph Drollinger, a supporter of Pres. Donald Trump who opposes LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights and leads a global effort to get elected officials right with Jesus.
Drollinger’s ministry, the letter says, “has had major impact” on the lives of Gluesenkamp Perez and her co-signers.
Her connection to Drollinger has not previously been reported and her name does not appear on his online lists of congressional sponsors. I obtained the letter, which was undated but distributed earlier this month, from a source on Capitol Hill. Gluesenkamp Perez did not immediately respond to emailed questions.
The letter says that Christian beliefs should supersede the obligations of office and that belief in Jesus makes one a better member of Congress. Of the 13 signers, Gluesenkamp Perez is the only Democrat and the only woman.
Here’s the start of the letter, which includes a likeness of the Great Seal of the United States, giving it the appearance of an official communication.
Drollinger has a record of moving politicians to the right. His organization, Capitol Ministries, pursues that goal around the world.
Its partisan tilt is hinted at in the letter. Members are told they’ll get Drollinger’s weekly study guides by email or “in your chair at the Republican conference meeting.”
Gluesenkamp Perez has also worked — also in secret — with another Christian organization that injects its religious beliefs into politics. That’s the Fellowship Foundation.
Gluesenkamp Perez continued working with them even after I revealed that they sent another member of Congress to defend Uganda’s LGBTQ+ death penalty. And even after the Congressional Equality Caucus called out The Fellowship in response to my reporting.
The Fellowship, too, has a record of getting Democrats to shift rightward.
Although she was a member of the most recent iteration of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Gluesenkamp Perez reportedly shifted right after her 2022 congressional victory. In that race, she ran on primarily progressive principles and even touted her past support for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Since then, there’s been some disenchantment. Here’s an early assessment from Slate magazine’s Alexander Sammon:
“Six months into her first term, she is not at all what her backers expected. On abortion, environmental issues, student debt, and criminal justice, she has opposed and undercut the president, alienated activist groups, spurned Democrats and sided with Republicans repeatedly—so much so that she is voting against her party more than almost any other Democrat.”
Sammon cites her vote for a Pentagon spending bill, which included provisions limiting transgender health care, diversity training, and abortion rights for the troops. One advocate for abortion rights told Sammon that her vote “raises real questions about how much she’s willing to stand by her campaign rhetoric about defending reproductive freedom.”
Driving this dynamic, Sammon suggests, was corporate backing via the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But another element may have factored in, too.
Gluesenkamp Perez’s father was a right-wing evangelical pastor, and last year she told the New York Times sometimes she feels more at home with religious Republicans. “I feel like my party is embarrassed I’m a Christian,” she said.
And that was before her Drollinger connection became known.
The letter’s pitch for Capitol Ministries begins by acknowledging that members of Congress are chosen by voters. However, “More importantly” — than their obligations to voters and the nation — “God continues to empower you to be a steward of His Gospel of liberty and matters impacting His eternal kingdom.”
Serving God, the letter says, “will make you better” at serving the people. And even the faith of House members who already believe is insufficient, the letter suggests. It should grow.
“[A]s we begin the 119th Congress—we want to encourage you to … make your time here in Congress more productive, and our lives more reflective of the righteousness of Christ Jesus as you grow in your faith.”
The letter also encourages members to:
“[R]emember that He is the author and finisher of your faith, and every good and perfect thing comes from the Lord.”
“...give Him all the glory along the way!”
“...going to church on a weekly basis”
“...engaging in regular prayer, along with Bible reading and study.”
Despite the common refrain that prayer and faith are unifying forces, the letter encourages siloing relationships based on faith. “[S]urround yourself with people you can trust and who will encourage and uplift you when times are tough.”
Of course, times are often tough when Biblical imperatives collide with democratic ones. Gluesenkamp Perez is telling members to build networks to help them withstand those pressures. That will also sequester members from secular influences and reasoning. At its base, the letter is envisioning an emotional support network to make it easier to choose The Bible.
And the letter gets pretty explicit about what those networks should look like. The formatting here is from the original:
“[P]ersonal accountability can only come with transparency. And, personal transparency only comes with true relationship with other believers.”
That would be them — the letter’s signers. “We look forward to building relationship with each of you … to encourage you, lift you up, pray for you, and work together with you for the benefit of our Heavenly Father.”
The end goal goes beyond conversion. Gluesenkamp Perez calls on members to join her in proselytizing to others. “Ultimately, we look forward to helping you achieve Christ's calling on your life,” the letter says, “and working together to disciple others in D.C.”
The first step is joining the group every Thursday at 8am to hear from the Drollingers and succumb to the temptations of a free hot breakfast. (No one should underestimate the appeal to cash-strapped politicians of a free meal, even if it’s subsidized by Capitol Ministries’ undisclosed donors.)
A Close-Knit Group
The co-signers on the letter are twelve Republican men. They’re universally opposed to various aspects of LGBTQ+ rights — ranging from marriage to workplace discrimination — and they get high marks from anti-abortion groups. Most signed on to the legal brief asking the Supreme Court to block some Electoral College votes in the 2020 presidential election.
One of the letter signers, Rep. Rick W. Allen (R-GA), once offered a Biblical prayer to GOP colleagues that called gay men “worthy of death.” He’s quoted on Drollinger’s website: “The only reason I’m in office today is because of Capitol Ministries.”
Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) wants the Ten Commandments hanging in public schools. He opposes same-sex marriage because it’s not in The Bible. And he voted against Juneteenth as a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery (which is in The Bible).
A newcomer to Congress and to Drollinger’s group, Rep. Mike Rulli (R-OH) in 2022 saw two teenagers he thought were trespassing near his home. So he fired a gun at them. (He claims it was a warning shot.)
Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-PA) might seem like a possible LGBTQ+ ally after attending his son’s same-sex wedding in 2022. But three days later he voted against codifying such marriages in federal law.
The letter-signers refer to themselves as “a close-knit group of believers.” But they’re not Gluesenkamp Perez’s only cohort on the religious right. She’s been active with the Fellowship Foundation, and friendly with one of its former leaders for years.
When former Rep. Don Bonker (D-WA) died in 2023, Gluesenkamp Perez issued a statement saying, “I was honored to call him a friend and a mentor. Don was always there to answer my questions, share a word of advice, or even lend my husband a suit to wear to my swearing-in ceremony in D.C.”
Bonker had endorsed Gluesenkamp Perez, and gave her $1,000, when she was considered a longshot in her red-leaning district. He was also a longtime Fellowship insider and leader.
And he was with Gluesenkamp Perez at the 2023 National Prayer Breakfast that February before he died — the first ostensibly “new” iteration of the controversial event.
Apparently, Bonker didn’t like what he saw. The following week, he wrote an opinion piece about it. A warning.
He called the event “disturbing” and said, “Having clergy at the podium giving sermons was unprecedented, as guest speakers in previous years talked about their personal experience.”
Bonker worried about a leadership vacuum at The Fellowship, and who was trying to fill it. “I also worry,” he said, “that a House Member could put on the stage a right-wing evangelical who would wrap faith around a political agenda.”
Ironically, the event’s co-chair, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), went on to do just that — leveraging his role as co-chair to speak later that year at Uganda’s National Prayer Breakfast. That’s when he urged Ugandans to “stand firm” in the face of international blowback against their new LGBTQ+ death penalty. (Walberg is listed as a sponsor on Drollinger’s latest study guide.)
Bonker died a few months after the U.S. prayer breakfast, and before its Ugandan spin-off that October. Gluesenkamp Perez continued her work with The Fellowship.
Last year, she spoke at The Fellowship’s annual gathering — which drafts off the “new” National Prayer Breakfast with help from a handful of congressional Democrats still willing to participate. Even if they aren’t public about it.
There’s no indication I could find that Gluesenkamp Perez ever announced her participation, but she took the stage with another far-right Republican, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).
In 2012, McMorris Rodgers said the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act shouldn’t include protections for LGBT people. “Those are side issues,” she said.
Today, she and Gluesenkamp Perez are prayer buddies. And McMorris Rodgers, too, has ties to both The Fellowship and to Drollinger. She’s been listed over multiple years as a sponsor of his Bible studies.
Drollinger’s Influence
According to Drollinger, his organization doesn’t lobby members of Congress. But he does guide the ones who show up, bringing them toward his views of Jesus’s views.
He claimed last year that unnamed Democrats attend his Bible studies. Whoever they might be, they don’t seem to want it known. None have loaned their names publicly as sponsors of the study group. And only Gluesenkamp Perez put her name on the letter — which was not publicly distributed.
This is what the Bible study group got from Drollinger’s guide last week:
“The attacks on Israel, the invasion of our southern border, increasing social unrest, a cold war with China, a deteriorating relationship with Russia, the war in Ukraine, and the reality of a nuclear Iran are no small threats, nor is our runaway national debt; America’s challenges seem to be increasing exponentially.”
The veracity of his claims aside, Drollinger has a bigger point to make. He asks his House members to consider whether the solutions are political. The answer is no.
“...the solution to a nation’s woes is not political—it is first spiritual; that’s what’s most important to God—that’s what triggers or withholds His transcendent blessing on a nation. Your faithfulness to continue (or suspend) serving Him now that you are in D.C. is the real determining factor as to whether He blesses or disciplines the nation.”
If you don’t serve God while you’re in Congress, Drollinger says, God will discipline America. Vote against abortion or the nation gets it.
Does this kind of guidance from Drollinger influence members of Congress?
Gluesenkamp Perez said it does in the letter. And after Trump’s victory last year, she sounded a note similar to Drollinger’s. Her solution for her party’s woes was not political.
“We don’t fix politics by becoming more political,” she said. “We need to change our idea of who is credentialed and capable of holding elected office.”
That, she said, means, “we need normal people to feel a sense of agency. We need people who are driving trucks and changing diapers and turning wrenches to run for office.” She didn’t elaborate on who counts as normal.
Drollinger gave the BBC an example of how his influence works in a 2018 article:
One Democrat, struggling with her party's support for same-sex marriage, contacted Drollinger for advice. He explained the Bible's teaching, as he saw it.
"The next bible study, she said 'that was really good'. Now she can't necessarily stand publicly on what I just taught her, but it's going on in her heart.”
As Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), another Christian extremist, put it last year, “[T]hese ministries in the Capitol, this is pivotal stuff. This is important work."
As Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), a Fellowship insider, put it, “The ministry is there to instruct, admonish, encourage, exhort, and inspire elected officials to lead their lives and conduct themselves in a way that brings glory to God…”
Drollinger’s religious zeal is such that, as a young man, the seven-footer passed up shots to play in the NBA in order to pursue his religious education. When Drollinger briefly joined the Mavericks it was so he could attend the Dallas Theological Seminary.
When he tried in vain to save former basketball star “Pistol” Pete Maravich after he collapsed during a 1988 pick-up game, the other guy giving CPR was James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family.
Today, Drollinger shines high in the constellation of right-wing Christian leaders and institutions, by height and by the extent of his influence.
His partner in this work, his wife Danielle, used to run a political action committee getting Christians elected (never mind the Constitution admonishing against religious tests). When they met, they bonded over their lament that Christian politicians stray from the path when they get into office.
“She was great at getting them elected,” Drollinger told the BCC, “but they would soon lose their Christian moorings."
Of course, representing constituents means representing all of them, which means broadening your perspective and serving even needs you personally may disagree with.
But that would not do. So they resolved to change it.
They took it upon themselves to minister to politicians. That may be a little misleading, actually. Drollinger, who holds a masters of divinity degree, may minister, but there’s no indication he’s been ordained by any church. And his wife may help out, but she’s forbidden from leading the study groups because The Bible says she can’t.
Their Sacramento ministry spread to other states. They’re now ministering to lawmakers in 43 capitals.
In 2010, Capitol Ministries went to Washington.
The Fellowship had beat them to the punch, by at least six decades. But Drollinger found that The Fellowship put too little weight on Scripture. The Fellowship had “lost its marbles,” he said. “Biblically.”
The Fellowship builds right-wing networks around the world, gravitating toward like-minded believers, but ministering to the powerful with general encouragement much more often than with Drollinger’s precise Scripture. More golf than Galatians.
So while The Fellowship did its weekly prayer breakfasts on Capitol Hill, with members sharing personal stories, Drollinger served up The Bible.
Eventually, alumni from his weekly Bible studies in the House of Representatives made it to the Senate. The Drollingers followed, launching the Senate Bible study in 2015.
Within a couple months of Trump’s first move into the White House, the Drollingers ramped up a cabinet-level study group. It was, they say, the first in a century.
During Trump’s first term, Drollinger told an interviewer he gave his study notes to Trump. "He writes me back notes on my bible studies," Drollinger said. “‘Way to go Ralph, really like this study, keep it up.' Stuff like that."
He also took his show on the road. And despite his feelings about The Fellowship, their orbits overlap, even overseas.
I’ve reported before on some of his ministers with ties to The Fellowship, pursuing similar ends with officials in other capitals. That includes Ukraine, among other places, and Guatemala, where Christian shadow diplomacy is, as they say, changing hearts. In Ukraine, GLAAD reported, Drollinger teamed up with the nation’s leading anti-LGBTQ+ crusader.
Others have reported on Drollinger’s peripatetic evangelizing. Two of his Trump White House Bible study members — Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — reportedly got Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández to let Drollinger set up shop there.
The point of the Bible studies is the same as the Capitol Ministries mission: Get political leaders to believe in Jesus, see The Bible as Drollinger sees it, and inject that Christian faith into everything they do.
The website is pretty straightforward: “Capitol Ministries’ mission is to work to fulfill The Great Commission by leading Public Servants to Jesus Christ.”
In interviews, Drollinger says he doesn’t tell politicians how to vote. But he does tell them where Jesus stands on political issues.
Against: debt, gay rights, divorce, and abortion.
For: Capitalism and Israel, at least until they fulfill Biblical prophecy by getting Gaza and then getting Jesus or getting damned.
(“[W]hen the Jews rejected their Messiah, God put them on a side track,” Drollinger says. “[I]n the End Times, he brings them back on the main track.”)
Drollinger doesn’t just share Scripture, he shares exegesis, too. His.
So, he decides, some Biblical law applied only to Jews, or only in the days of the Old Testament. That’s why stoning gays to death might have been appropriate once, but no longer applies.
Drollinger says he supports separation of church and state. But he defines that in terms of institutions, not individuals. People working for the state should get as much God into it as they can. Run it like a theocracy, but by choice. Choosing Jesus.
Unbelievers, he says, often vote wrong. Christians can’t understand why, so Drollinger dedicated a Nov. 2024 study guide to the subject. Titled “Better Understanding Why the Unregenerate Don’t Always Vote Right,” Drollinger begins by saying, “It always intrigues me when a Christian is bewildered by the fact that unbelievers often do not vote right.”
Spoiler: A personal relationship with God, via Jesus Christ, means becoming indwelled by the Holy Spirit, “who simultaneously leads us into all truth.” In other words, believers are right.
This, to be clear, is a study guide meant for elected officials.
Last February, Drollinger told Business Insider that the Trump White House Bible study group continued meeting even after Pres. Joe Biden moved in. The Trump alumni took their study group remote, but kept going.
Drollinger declined to confirm that he wanted Trump back in the White House last year. But as he told Business Insider, "Hopefully certain things will happen next year around this time. We'll have our cabinet study back."
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Jesus, this is depressing.
Thanks Jonathan ... Even if its the fascination of a multi-car collision or train wreck, I force myself to pay attention to what christian fundamentalists are up to. Nice to have someone writing about it in addition to Jeff Sharlet, Daniel Miller, and Bradley Onishi.