WASHINGTON (RNS) — As the sun rose over the U.S. Capitol on the last Sunday in April, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, wearing a gold cross necklace, sat next to Sen. Cory Booker on the building’s stone steps. The two looked around quietly for a moment, awaiting confirmation that the livestream of their “sit-in” — a daylong effort designed to push back against the Republican-led budget proposal and actions by President Donald Trump’s administration — had begun.
After someone off-camera informed them the broadcast was live, both men immediately bowed their heads in prayer.
“Father God, we humble ourselves before you and before all who may watch today,” said Booker, the New Jersey Democrat who attends a Baptist church in Newark. After asking the Almighty for strength, he prayed that his words might “be of service at this crisis moment in American history.”
It was a preview of the next 12 hours, as the two prominent Democratic lawmakers and a slew of guests outlined a decidedly faith-forward argument against Republican leaders and the Trump administration. The pair discussed their own religious backgrounds, referred to liberation theology, read from the Bible and lauded what Booker called the transformative power of “faith traditions” — a phrase that came up no fewer than 4 …