Sole Muslim woman on White House religious committee resigns over Trump administration’s ‘illegal war against Iran’

Sameerah Munshi, the only Muslim woman on the White House Religious Liberty Commission, has resigned. Munshi made the announcement on social media, saying that she was resigning over the injustice and atrocities of the Donald Trump administration at home and abroad.

In a detailed note, Munshi said two recent developments led her to resign. This includes the removal of Carrie Prejean Boller, a former Miss California who was sacked from the Justice Department's Religious Liberty Commission for ‘hijacking" a hearing on antisemitism to promote a "personal and political agenda" last month.

Munshi also said she was troubled by the Trump administration’s “illegal war against Iran, undertaken without clear constitutional or congressional authorization”.

Appointed by Trump in 2025

Munshi, a prominent Muslim activist, was appointed as an advisor on President Donald Trump’s White House Religious Liberty Commission in 2025.

She noted that despite being mocked by even members of the commission over her faith, she hesitantly accepted the appointment to remain a voice of reason and to stand for the religious freedom of ordinary Americans.

'Americans are against this war'

Hitting out at the Trump administration for the ongoing war in Iran, Munshi accused the government of the unlawful killing of children and civilians, at the behest of Israel, which she called “a genocidal state”.

“Not only is the American public against this aggression, but our tax dollars are funding the very violence that we oppose, both against innocent Palestinians and now Iranians. It is painfully obvious through their actions that this administration has no regard for the Constitution’s protection of free expression and religious liberty, nor its detailing of war powers,” she said.

Munshi also made it clear that she was not resigning out of fear or intimidation by anyone.

“I am resigning because I have seen firsthand the injustice perpetrated by members of this commission, and I am unwilling to be associated with it any longer. I have seen this corrupt, dangerous administration’s disregard for American citizens and the lives of innocents, and I am unwilling to be associated with it any longer. I support America over Israel, and unfortunately, that means I cannot support Trump or this government,” she said.

What opinion polls say

Meanwhile, the US-Israeli attack on Iran, codenamed Operation Epic Fury, is on its 14th day. Notably, most polls so far have shown that a majority of Americans are opposed to the military action against Iran.

Opinion polls, including those by AP, Gallup and others, in the run-up to the conflict and in the first week of the first week of the military operation have shown that more Americans are against the war than those supporting it.

Death toll in Iran

According to Iranian authorities, in the first two weeks of the conflict, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in US-Israeli bombings. This includes the 165 to 180 girl students killed in an airstrike on a school in Minab last week.

The Iranian representative to the UN said that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in the country.

Estimates by the US and Israel also put the Iranian military death toll since the start of the conflict on February 28 at around 3,000.