HUD to pay $17,800 settling federal lawsuit about Ben Carson’s White House Bible study

Two watchdog groups that targeted and sued Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson for taking part in weekly Bible study meetings at the White House announced they have reached a $17,800 settlement.

The groups, Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), announced the settlement last week, putting an end to a two-year dispute. The groups claimed they were repeatedly denied Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests about Carson's schedule and the Bible study, which at one point were purportedy attended my several Cabinet members.

In March, the Wisconsin-based FFRF blasted Pastor Ralph Drollinger, who led the Bible study in question, as a "hate preacher," claiming he "blamed gays" in a blog post for the coronavirus pandemic, the Christian Post reports.

But Drollinger said his words were misrepresented by the mainstream media, and HUD blasted the media for being "nothing more than activists with a political agenda" after the headlines linked the pastor's blog post to coronavirus and homosexuality.