One of Donald Trump's most vocal and conservative Christian supporters says the president's right hand man Steve Bannon suggested him for a job with the Administration. Jerry Falwell Jr gave Trump his backing early in the campaign and stood by him during the various controversies that caused other Christian leaders to reconsider their support.
The Washington Post now reports that Steve Bannon – the controversial White House senior strategist – was the one who suggested him to Trump. 'It was White House senior strategist Stephen K Bannon who offered him a role with the Trump administration as the head of a not-yet created task force on higher education,' claims the story.
The president offered the job to Falwell, who runs Liberty University, the conservative Christian institution founded by his father, Religious Right stalwart Jerry Falwell.
Falwell Jnr, according to the report, 'was offered the job of higher education secretary in November but declined'.
Bannon was described by the Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti Defamation League – a group that combats anti-semitism – as 'a man who presided over the premier website of the "alt-right" – a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists'.
In a separate development, Falwell is said to have become a target for Democratic senators who have now written of their concerns. 'We were extremely concerned to learn through media reports that President Trump has asked Jerry L. Falwell, Jr, president of Liberty University, to lead a new "task force" to recommend changes to federal regulations, policies, and procedures in higher education,' they say. Their letter has been sent to secretary of education Betsy DeVos.
