Praying for Our Leaders in Government
Executive Branch: Pray for the President and his Administration
President Joe Biden is meeting with members of the Senate majority as the attempt to change the filibuster and pass voting legislation appears on the brink of defeat. His trip to Capitol Hill will be the first time he has met face-to-face with his party’s caucus since July.
The Energy Department announced a series of steps intended to promote green manufacturing and accept climate change contributions from the industrial sector. A White House fact sheet said a series of initiatives will be enacted to bolster clean hydrogen energy and use the federal government’s purchasing power to advance its climate goals, among other efforts.
Pray that God will be at work through the efforts of the president and members of his administration as they address issues facing the nation.
Legislative Branch: Pray for Senators and Representatives in Congress
Representative Cori Bush of Missouri says she is not going to stop using the slogan “defund the police,” even though some of her colleagues have requested she do so. She says she tells her colleagues, “If you all had fixed this before I got here, I wouldn’t have to say these things.” She said she will not change her stance until there is meaningful reform.
Senator Bill Haggerty of Tennessee introduced a bill to remove a provision in the American Rescue Plan that would require third-party payment processors to report users’ business transactions that exceed $609. Senator Haggerty said, “It is past time we stand up for our small business owners and say ‘no more snooping’ to this administration’s egregious and unwarranted overreach.”
Pray for the members of Congress as they provide oversight of the business of the nation.
PRAY FOR CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES
The Senate Finance Committee is working to put together a bipartisan legislation package this summer to address mental health issues that would focus on five key areas: strengthening the workforce; increasing coordination and access to care; ensuring parity between behavioral and physical health care; further use of telehealth; improving access for children and young people.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee announced it is launching a probe regarding boxes of possibly classified records of former President Trump that had been recovered by the National Archives and Records Administration from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
Pray for Senate and House committees as they work to promulgate legislation for the entire Congress to consider.
Judicial Branch: Pray for Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges
A federal district judge said former Alaska governor Sarah Palin failed to prove that the New York Times acted with “actual malice” toward her and threw out her case against the paper, even as a jury was in deliberations on the matter. He said he would allow the jury to keep deliberating so that their verdict could be part of the record as the case is certain to be appealed to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which could keep the matter going for months ahead.
The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that police officers did not have probable cause to arrest an Ohio man who wore a t-shirt with anti-police words and cursed at deputies during a county fair. The court said that man was protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution and should not have been arrested on disorderly conduct charges, no matter how vulgar his speech.
Pray for America’s judges as more and more cases appear on their dockets regarding the First Amendment freedoms.
