Praying for Our Leaders in Government
Executive Branch: Pray for the President and his Administration
The U.S. and Iran are beginning indirect negotiations with intermediaries this week to try to get both countries back into compliance with an accord limiting Iran’s nuclear program. President Biden has said that getting back into the accord and getting Iran’s nuclear program back under international restrictions is a priority, but the deadlock over sanctions is posing an early challenge for the new administration.
Heather Boushey, a member of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, said the risk of extreme inflation in the U.S. has decreased after a month of gains for workers, but expressed concern that the pace of business reopening could cause a coronavirus resurgence. “The question is are we moving too fast, too soon,” she stated.
Pray for the president and his administration as the many issues surrounding America’s security are addressed.
Legislative Branch: Pray for Senators and Representatives in Congress
Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the former chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, warned that Hunter Biden’s dealings with Chinese nationals, including one who is now a convicted felon, pose an “enormous blackmail” threat to President Biden.
Representative Jim Banks of Indiana called it a “scandal” that “the Biden team is giving in to Iran’s nuclear blackmail and rewarding the regime with sanctions relief for its enrichment of uranium by 20 percent.” Banks sits on the House Armed Services Committee and is one among other legislators who are critical of the president’s decision to roll back sanctions on Iran ahead of new diplomatic talks.
Pray for those serving in Congress as they seek to bring balance to foreign policy.
Judicial Branch: Pray for Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges
The Supreme Court declared moot a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said former President Trump’s decision to block critics on Twitter was unconstitutional. The lower court considered his page to be a protected public platform. Justice Clarence Thomas said, because of Twitter’s action in January of 2020, they effectively blocked “all Twitter users from interacting with his messages,” by banning the former president’s account. Therefore the case no longer had merit. “Because unbridled control of the account resided in the hands of a private party, First Amendment doctrine may not have applied to respondents’ complaint of stifled speech,” he pointed out, stating that “[whether] governmental use of private space implicates the First Amendment often depends on the government’s control over that space.”
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe ruled that a non-disclosure agreement signed by an employee of former President Trump’s 2016 campaign was unenforceable because the wording was so vague, and a non-disparagement clause in the agreement was also flawed. “He did not address constitutional issues presented by such agreements in the context of political campaigns.”
Pray for the justices and judges who are being asked to rule on many cases involving political disputes.
