J.D. Vance’s Holy War

Who could have predicted, just a week into Donald Trump’s second administration, that his vice president would be in a spat with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the archbishop of New York, who had just delivered an invocation at Trump’s inauguration? 

It’d be less surprising—expected, even—if it were Trump himself. But J.D. Vance is the highest-ranking Roman Catholic in the U.S. government, so it was astounding when the vice president accused the bishops conference of being more concerned with their “bottom line” than their pastoral work helping refugees and immigrants. Catholics engaged in public policy in Washington and beyond were, in a word, shocked by Vance’s charge.

“There’s concern the political will eclipse the principle in terms of what motivates him,” Jayd Henricks, the former head of government relations at the USCCB, told me.

Vance’s shot across the bow at his church’s American establishment was just the latest example of the simmering tensions between Trump’s political movement and the country’s Catholic community over immigration. Longstanding legal battles between Republican officials in Texas and Catholic relief groups like Catholic Charities and Annunciation House continue over their work operating shelters and providing other services for undocumented migrants. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican member of the newly established DOGE subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee, has said she plans to investigate a Catholic Charities attorney in Milwaukee over a video in which the attorney informs refugees and immigrants of their legal rights.

Kim Daniels, the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, argued this week on Twitter that it all adds up to an “old strategy” of “politicians targeting Catholics for political gain.”

What set things off this week was Vance’s interview on Face the Nation, during which CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan pressed him about the bishops’ critical statements on the administration’s executive orders relating to the enforcement of immigration laws and refugee programs. Vance turned the issue around on the USCCB, employing the glib combativeness that has made him a hero and heir apparent to the MAGA movement.

“I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants—are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” the vice president said.

Vance went on, suggesting that the bishops should be more concerned about the “children who have been sex trafficked” over the open border. “I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has, frankly, not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for, and I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they’ll do better,” he scolded.

The vice president had picked an easy target: a faceless bureaucracy that at first glance has little to do with the everyday lives of churchgoing Catholics in their parishes. But Vance’s snap at the bishops had more than a little venom to it. This was not a “agree to disagree” moment, one employed by Catholic politicians in both parties when one of their positions inevitably comes into conflict with the teachings of the church. Vance was questioning the sincerity and good faith of the bishops on one of the most visible parts of Catholic ministry: the care and defense of the vulnerable.

Some Catholic stakeholders in Washington and beyond worry that by suggesting the church is benefitting financially from the resettlement program, Vance opens a door for bigots. Anti-Catholic nativists in the 19th and early 20th century often cast the church as greedy, seeking public funding for their parochial schools or as payouts to immigrants from the urban political machines. Vestiges of those anti-Catholic sentiments remain enshrined in some state laws to this day.

“The vice president of the United States chose a major venue to deliberately accuse Catholic leaders of being in it for the money & enabling child trafficking — easily-refuted falsehoods that used to only find expression among fringe anti-Catholics,” Daniels tweeted.

The USCCB’s written response did not directly address Vance’s remarks, but it defended the program it interpreted as the target of his barb, a contract with the federal government to fulfill its Refugee Admissions Program, which has been required by law since 1980. The statement notes that the USCCB “receives funds” from the government to resettle refugees, which it characterizes as “a work of mercy and ministry of the Church,” though it notes that those funds do not entirely cover the costs of its refugee program. 

An analysis of the USCCB’s annual audits by The Pillar, an independent Catholic news site, confirms the conference’s claims. In 2023, for instance, the USCCB received more than $129 million from Washington as part of its migrant and refugee services contract but spent just over $134 million on the program. That disparity—the bishops spending more on these services than they receive from the government—has happened across recent administrations and is reflected even when the government spent far less on the program during the first Trump administration. The Pillar’s analysis also notes that the ratio of the program’s operational costs to administrative costs is well within the bounds of best practices. 

But it was the reaction from Cardinal Timothy Dolan that revealed just how deeply Vance’s words had cut. The archbishop of New York is a media-savvy prelate often aligned with the church’s political conservatives. Dolan enthusiastically welcomed Trump to the annual Al Smith dinner last fall and delivered an invocation at last week’s inauguration. But the cardinal was unsparing about Vance during his weekly satellite radio show on Tuesday.

“I was really disappointed with what he said on Face the Nation the other day, and I don’t mind telling you, somewhat hurt. This was not only harmful, this was inaccurate,” Dolan said, calling Vance’s argument “scurrilous” and “nasty” and challenging the vice president to “look at our audits.”

Dolan’s anger is matched by conservative Catholics in Washington who have privately expressed their disappointment in their correligionist in the White House. 

There are no signs that Vance or the bishops will reconcile anytime soon. A White House spokesman declined to comment, and requests for comment to both the USCCB and the archdiocese of New York have so far gone unanswered. But several Catholics working in public policy with a vested interest in a healthy relationship between the church and the United States government tell me they are hopeful Vance will make amends.

“I think he owes, you know, maybe it’s not a public apology, but it’s certainly some level of apology to the bishops and he needs before he speaks about these things, to be a little bit more informed,” said Henricks.

Doing so wouldn’t just be good manners—it might also be politically prudent. With the Vatican looking askance at the new administration and Pope Francis installing a Trump critic to lead the archdiocese in the nation’s capital, it’s unclear what the upside is for Vance to alienate the relatively conservative conference of American bishops on week one – especially after Catholic voters preferred Trump over Kamala Harris in November by 20 points.

But like president, like vice president. There appears to be little patience from either Trump or Vance for criticism from those who might otherwise be allies.

“In some respects, you kind of appreciate just the directness and kind of transparency,” said Henricks of Vance’s comments. “But if this reflects kind of the honest attitude, it does not bode well for a good working relationship.”