Due to worries that the meeting had turned too controversial, the National Prayer Breakfast, one of the most famous and long-running occasions that combines religion and politics in Washington, is separating from the private religious group that has been in charge of it for decades.
The National Prayer Breakfast Foundation, run by former senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Ark, will be in charge of planning and hosting this year’s breakfast, which is set for Thursday.
Sen. Chris Coons, a constant participant and the head of the Senate ethics committee, claimed that worries in previous years that members of Congress were unaware of critical information regarding the bigger multiday event were a factor in the decision.
Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, claimed he and the committee’s vice chairman, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma had previously expressed concerns regarding who was invited and how money was obtained.
According to Coons, the annual event “went over several days, had thousands of attendees, and a very huge but also very complicated organization.” “Some issues had been raised regarding our ability to claim that we, as members of Congress, obviously knew how it was arranged, who was invited, and how it was sponsored. Many of us who had held senior positions were unable to respond to those inquiries.
Legislators ultimately decided to take charge of planning the prayer breakfast itself as a result.
