Praying for Our Leaders in Government
Executive Branch: Pray for the President and his Administration
President Biden said he somewhat supports “a number of components” of H.R. 40. This is a bill that would look to provide reparations for black Americans and study whether they should be compensated for over 200 years of slavery on U.S. soil. He particularly believes the study is “the next important step forward” and, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, he feels it would be correct to address it at this moment in history.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called for more public-private cooperation on cyber defenses and said U.S. adversaries are already capable of using cyber intrusions to shut down the U.S. power grid. “I think that there are very malign actors who are trying,” she said. “Even as we speak, there are thousands of attacks on all aspects of the energy sector and the private sector generally.”
Pray for administration officials as they work on matters of national security.
Legislative Branch: Pray for Senators and Representatives in Congress
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said that he will vote against the For the People Act (H.R.-1), the sweeping voting reform legislation. He will also not vote to “weaken or eliminate” the filibuster, effectively ending the prospects of both in the evenly divided Senate. He said he believes “partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening bonds of our democracy.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has criticized calls to defund the police as well as the push for changes to qualified immunity. “I think the abuse that’s been heaped on law enforcement over the past year is unfortunate,” he said. He stated the calls to defund the police are misguided.
Pray for members of Congress as they navigate the divisions that exist over party and ideological lines.
Judicial Branch: Pray for Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the federal government, stating there is no requirement to treat asylum seekers’ testimony as credible. The justices decided unanimously that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals must not presume an immigrant’s testimony to be credible when a lower court did not specifically address the person’s credibility. They sent the case back to the lower court for further consideration.
A federal judge in South Dakota has denied Governor Kristi Noem’s request for a permit to allow fireworks over Mount Rushmore in celebration of Independence Day. President Biden’s administration had initially denied the permit, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and respect for Native American tribes as reasons.
Pray for wisdom the Supreme Court Justices and federal judges as they interpret U.S. law and issue rulings.
