CHURCH AND STATE

Trump’s Personal Pastor, Paula White, to Officially Join White House: NYT

The prosperity gospel pastor was once investigated by the Senate over questionable fundraising practices.

A prosperity gospel televangelist and President Trump’s longtime personal pastor, Paula White, has reportedly joined the White House in an official capacity. One official told The New York Times that White will be joining the Office of Public Liaison, advising the administration’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative. The initiative, created last year, is devoted to giving religious groups more voice in certain matters like religious liberty and poverty. White has prayed at Trump’s inauguration and rallies, once claiming that “demonic” news networks were aligning “against the calling of President Trump.” She was investigated by the Senate in the late 2000s, along with other pastors, for allegedly participating in questionable fundraising practices under the guise of prosperity gospel—which teaches that God blesses people through material wealth and other worldly gifts. The three-year probe ended in 2011, and investigators found no wrongdoing.