The controversy surrounding a religious watchdog group founded by Donald Trump intensified recently, as another member resigned and a prominent Republican called for an investigation into the dismissal of a former Miss California.

Sameerah Munshi stepped down from the Justice Department’s Religious Liberty Commission on Friday, following the removal of Carrie Prejean Boller, a longtime Trump associate, over her comments on Israel.

Munshi, who was the only Muslim woman on the advisory board, described Prejean Boller’s dismissal as a violation of free speech and religious freedom—principles the commission was meant to uphold. In her resignation letter, Munshi questioned, “If we are not free in America to abide by our religious beliefs, then where can we be?”

Prejean Boller, who is Catholic, was ousted after allegedly disrupting a hearing last month by questioning Jewish witnesses about whether critiquing Israel’s actions in Gaza equated to anti-Semitism.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, she claimed she was targeted in a “witch hunt” by Trump’s spiritual adviser, Paula White, who is also on the commission. Prejean Boller alleged that White had been orchestrating her removal for months, insisting she refrain from discussing Israel and Gaza on social platforms.

Prejean Boller accused the evangelical pastor, a supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of trying to label her as a “hateful, anti-Semite bigot” to further a pro-war agenda against Muslims.

She further accused White of being an ‘Israeli spy’ who was working on behalf of Netanyahu’s government to push Trump into the Iran war. ‘My firing was the prelude to the war. They needed to remove any anti-Zionist who promotes peace,’ she said. 

Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who is staunchly anti-Trump, sent a letter to the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on Friday demanding an investigation into her ousting. 

Carrie Prejean Boller and President Donald Trump at the White House Religious Liberty Commission, Monday, September 8, 2025, at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC

Paula White (red blazer) prays over Trump with members of the White House Faith Office, which she leads, amid Operation Epic Fury on March 5

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is joined on stage by Pastor Paula White, Senior Advisor to the White House Faith Office, during an event at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem on July 27, 2025

Prejean Boller’s dismissal raised ‘serious questions’, Massie said, ‘particularly where the remarks at issue reflect statements made by religious authorities such as the Pope.’

He said it was ‘both ironic and concerning’ that Prejean Boller was fired by a commission Trump created by executive order to ensure that Americans can freely exercise their faith. 

Her ouster stems from a February 9 hearing to examine the rise of anti-Semitism after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks that left 1,400 dead. 

Her statements echoed positions held by the Vatican, which rejects Christian Zionism, including statements by the late Pope Francis, who called for a genocide investigation into Gaza in 2024. 

More than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the October 7 attacks, the vast majority of them civilians. 

She questioned Yitzchok Frankel, a UCLA law student who had spoken about the abuse he suffered, which she said she took ‘very seriously.’

However, Prejean Boller argued that many of the students were peacefully protesting the killing of thousands of civilians in Gaza, exercising their First Amendment right to free speech.

In one fiery exchange, she asked Frankel: ‘Is anti-Zionism the same as anti-Semitism?’

He replied: ‘Yes.’

President Donald Trump with the Religious Liberty Commission, Monday, September 8, 2025, at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC

Carrie Prejean Boller was sacked from the Justice Department’s Religious Liberty Commission after ‘hijacking’ a February 9 hearing to examine the rise of anti-Semitism 

Carrie Prejean Boller with Bishop Robert Barron (right) and Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Trump’s spiritual adviser Paula White (red jacket) stands in the background with another woman

Miss USA 2009 1st runner up Carrie Prejean poses for photos at the 2009 Miss USA Pageant at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on April 19, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Donald Trump kisses Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, and Miss California at a press conference at Trump Tower on May 12, 2009

She also asked witnesses whether someone who did not support the political state of Israel should be considered an anti-Semite, and whether speaking out about what many Americans viewed as genocide in Gaza should be treated as anti-Semitism. 

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the commission’s chair, announced two days later that he was removing Prejean Boller because he deemed her questions unacceptable. 

‘No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue,’ he posted on X. 

Prejean Boller, 38, first came to national prominence in 2009 when she ignited a national firestorm at the Miss USA pageant by declaring that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Trump, who owned the pageant at the time, defended her right to free speech and let her keep her crown.

She remained a fierce loyalist for the next 16 years, appearing alongside him as recently as September when he met with the commission at the Museum of the Bible in Washington.

That loyalty collapsed spectacularly on Thursday when Prejean Boller published an open letter to Trump accusing him of betraying his own movement, saying she had supported him for 20 years but ‘now, I don’t even recognize you.’

She is married to former NFL quarterback Kyle Boller and the couple have two children.

The White House declined to comment.