Senate chaplain delivers fiery prayers during government shutdown

Every time there is a government shutdown, I turn to an unconventional measure to understand the depth of the predicament.

I always watch the first few moments of a Senate session.

Logical, right?

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Any congressional reporter would surely want to hear the reflections of Senate majority and minority leaders on the floor to digest where things stand with the shutdown.

But I’m listening to hear someone who has his finger on the pulse of the Senate. They may not be as highly ranked as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-D., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerD.N.Y. But they have a direct line to someone above everyone else.

Listen to the opening prayer of the Senate from Senate Chaplain Barry Black.

“On this third day of the government shutdown, inspire them to work for your glory in all they think, say and do,” Black prayed during the Oct. 3 Senate opening. “Equip our senators to do their job.”

Senate Chaplain Barry Black’s prayers are an excellent finger on the pulse of progress made during the government shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Black is a parliamentary priest who offers ecumenical intercessions in search of a solution to the lockdown.

The shutdown crisis has worsened since Black’s initial recall more than three weeks ago. But after days of political posturing and inaction by secularists in Congress, Black unloaded his partisanship in the Senate on Monday.

“When our children and grandchildren want to know what we were doing in the 119th Congress during the famous shutdown, don’t we have to give these answers: ‘You helped set a new record for keeping the government closed. I failed to appeal to the better angels of my nature. I forgot Matthew 7:12, which says, ‘Do to others whatever you would have them do to you,’ Black prayed.

“Lord, remind our lawmakers that gold medals are not awarded for record-breaking lockdowns. But the crown of righteousness is given to those who care for the lost, last and least.”

Black’s rousing speeches from the Senate podium are canon in times of crisis. He offered similar prayers during long government shutdowns in 2013 and 2018-19.

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“Enough is enough,” Black prayed during the 2013 shutdown after death compensation payments to families of deceased American soldiers stopped. “Cover our shame with a garment of righteousness.”

After Capitol Police officers were injured following a high-speed chase and shooting at the Capitol — all without getting paid in the middle of that shutdown — Black rebuked lawmakers in his prayers.

“Deliver us from the hypocrisy of trying to appear reasonable while being unreasonable,” Black prayed.

Black says his prayers are to God. But his position is in Senate It gives him a special status. Not every pastor has the benefit (or pressure) of a 100-member Senate constituency. That’s to say nothing of those watching across the country on C-Span.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, from New York, criticized the president, describing him as a “cold, heartless person.” (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Black was direct in his sermon on Tuesday.

“Lord, use our lawmakers to help end this government shutdown, increase their faith, hope, and love, and empower them to transform disharmony into harmony,” he prayed.

By the 29th day of the government shutdown, it was unclear whether Black’s petitions had reached lawmakers. Tensions rose in the Capitol as members lashed out at each other in fits of rage.

“Selfish, bad, evil bull!” Schumer shouted, criticizing the president and describing him as a “cold, heartless person.”

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Lawmakers used salty language in their speech.

“We need five Democratic senators to get their heads out of their asses,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, Republican of Florida.

“You got the damn law,” shouted Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. She called on the Trump administration to release an emergency fund to pay SNAP benefits.

“The money is there. Go get it, my God,” DeLauro said angrily.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., was one of several lawmakers who used profane language in their speech. (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)

The usually mild-mannered Thune criticized Democrats during a heated exchange over SNAP.

“This is not a political game! This is real people’s lives we are talking about!” Thon thundered. “And you all just realized that in 29 days there might be some consequences? That there are people who are running out of money?”

Yet — or ranting — Thune has long told Democrats that he is willing to engage them on their health care demands.

But with a warning.

“You want to have a discussion about health care? Open up the government. Let’s do it,” Thune said.

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at least One Democrat Ready to take this offer.

“I think a very fair deal is to open up the government and let’s just vote on extending these bonuses for a year or more,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., said on Fox.

But Democrats insist they are not giving up.

“There are no cracks on the Democratic side,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., appears ready to reach a deal to open up the government. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Jeffries criticized President Trump for refusing to negotiate to end the shutdown — while the president was in Asia.

“Donald Trump has spent more time talking to Hamas and the Chinese Communist Party than he has talking to Democrats on Capitol Hill to end the Trump shutdown,” the New York Democrat said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Los Angeles, is angry with Democratic leaders.

“I gave up driving,” Johnson said. “So, we’re trying to attract a handful of moderates or centrists who care more about the American people.”

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Sen. Katherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., is one of three senators tied to Democrats who have repeatedly voted to defund the government. There is talk about what it will take to stop the lockdown. But the talks are informal.

“I think there is an opportunity for us to come together to open up the government and address the looming health care crisis,” Cortez Masto told Fox Business Channel’s Chase Williams.

“There is a will among senators on both sides of the aisle to do something. But leadership is getting in the way. And the one person who should be at the table is not. That is Donald Trump. Because Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune won’t do a single thing unless he tells them what to do.”

Many lawmakers anticipate what will force lawmakers to reopen the government.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, suggests Veterans Day could be a potential “D-Day,” adding: “This is when you’re going to break the system.” (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

“I think Veterans Day is probably D-Day,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. “And that’s when you’re going to break the system.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, predicted: “I think that will happen next week.”

“Why?” I really asked you.

“Only because the carnage is piling up, and Democrats are hurting more than they are getting helped,” Graham replied.

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It is unclear whether that forces lawmakers to reopen the government. There is now pressure in the air – and on the ground – to reopen the government. Many airlines and truckers have called on Congress to pass a GOP bill to fund the government.

In Graham’s view, next week marks the most significant inflection point for the lockdown yet, and it’s likely power Lawmakers to come. SNAP benefits are running out. The second lost paycheck. Worry about the airlines. It is an “opportunity”. But that’s just it. These “opportunities” will soon double.

Barry Black is likely to continue his daily calls for an end to the lockdown. Only God Almighty knows when the lockdown will end.

But until then, the federal government’s operations remain faltering.

On a wing. And a prayer.