A political action committee that once backed Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election is apologizing after using sermons from the late Rev. Billy Graham to attack President Donald Trump.

The group, formerly called “Evangelicals for Harris” and now operating under “Evangelicals for America” following Harris’ electoral defeat last fall, issued a public statement admitting it was wrong to politicize Graham’s preaching.

“In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, Evangelicals for America PAC’s ‘Evangelicals for Harris’ campaign produced several ads using clips of Rev. Billy Graham,” the group said, acknowledging that they did so without prior permission from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). They had assumed their usage fell under “Fair Use,” but later realized it violated the spirit of Graham’s ministry.

Last October, the BGEA, led by Franklin Graham, sent the PAC a cease-and-desist letter, expressing concern that the use of Billy Graham’s sermons in partisan ads was misleading and infringed on the BGEA’s copyrights.

“Our intent was not to infringe on BGEA’s copyright or to give the impression that Rev. Graham would have taken a side in publicly supporting one political candidate over another,” the group said. “We apologize to BGEA.”

Evangelicals for America further acknowledged that Billy Graham’s mission was never political, but singularly focused on sharing Jesus Christ with the world.

“We affirm BGEA’s position that Rev. Graham’s purpose was always clear: telling people about God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who alone came from heaven to earth to make a way for all mankind to be saved from our sins,” they stated.

The PAC also expressed appreciation for BGEA’s willingness to handle the matter peaceably, citing Romans 12:18: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

As a result, the PAC confirmed it has removed its ads featuring Graham’s sermons and committed not to use BGEA’s content in political contexts in the future without clear written permission.

“Our hope is that these actions and our commitment not to use Rev. Billy Graham within a partisan electoral context will clarify confusion over the message in our original ads, affirm the value and importance of Christian dialogue about the way we engage in politics, and prioritize Christians remaining in communion despite differences,” the group said.

During the 2024 campaign, the group spent over $1 million on battleground state ads using Graham’s sermons to portray Trump as exhibiting the characteristics of ungodly men described in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Despite their public statement, one such ad remained on X as of Thursday.

At the time, Franklin Graham strongly opposed the PAC’s actions, stating that liberals were “using anything and everything they can to promote candidate Harris,” including his father’s likeness in a misleading way.

Billy Graham’s granddaughter, Jerushah Duford, who supported Evangelicals for Harris during the campaign, had publicly criticized Christian Trump supporters, stating, “Voting Kamala, for me, is so much greater than policies. It’s a vote against another four years of faith leaders justifying the actions of a man who destroys the message Jesus came to spread.”