Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth prayed for American troops to deliver "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy." It's worth noting that in the Christian faith, regardless of denomination, everyone is inherently deserving of mercy. That is the central tenant of the faith, and mercy is one of the core attributes of God. The very idea that anyone could be not deserving of mercy is heretical. His prayer also suggested that we are fighting against the "enemies of righteousness."

Hegseth has frequently been criticized for his support for violence and his inflammatory rhetoric. He has repeatedly defended the Crusades, an extremely bloody, nearly 200-year long religious war waged by Christians against Muslim nations fought over the land occupied by modern-day Israel and Palestine. He has informally renamed the Department of Defense to the Department of War. He has issued orders to reduce the number of faith traditions or religious affiliations recognized by the United States military from over 200 down to just 31.

Hegseth is one of many Christian Nationalists who have wormed their way into positions of power and are using that power to try to establish a theocracy in the United States, even though this is strictly prohibited by our Constitution and the very principles the nation was founded on. The majority of people of the United States self-identify as Christians, but Christian Nationalism is an extreme right-wing, predominantly political movement that does not represent the values of the broader Christian community or the teachings of the Bible.

United States House of Representatives

Last week, the Senate unanimously agreed to a partial funding bill that would allow TSA officers, the Coast Guard, and other employees of DHS with the exception of Customs and Border Patrol. But the House rejected that bill and passed their own bill that would include full funding for DHS (including ICE) for eight weeks.

Both the House and Senate have to agree on the same version of the same bill before it can be taken to the president to sign into law.

Donny 2-Dolls has declared yet another national emergency in order to bypass the Constitutional provision granting Congress exclusive control over the country's finances, and has ordered TSA officers to receive their back pay for their work since the shutdown began 44 days ago. The Coast Guard, FEMA, and other DHS employees will not receive their pay.

The Senate and House are now in recess for the next two weeks, so there is no chance that a resolution will come until both chambers return to work sometime in April.