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In this episode of Washington Watch, guest host Jody Heiss delves into the evolving situation between Ukraine and Russia as diplomatic efforts intensify. Join us as we examine the latest in the peace negotiations led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, featuring insights from General John Teichert. We explore the broader implications of a streamlined plan aimed at ending the conflict and the conditions necessary for lasting peace.
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 12 :
We arrived here today with one goal, and the goal was to take 28 points or 26 points, depending on which version as it continued to evolve, and try to narrow the ones that were open items. And we have achieved that today in a very substantial way.
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That was U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday expressing hope for a peace deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia. Welcome to this November 24th edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host Jody Heiss filling in this week for Tony Perkins and so glad to have you on board with us. All right, coming up, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says progress has been made on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, but Kiev’s request for security guarantees remains unresolved and concerns over concessions to Russia certainly persist. General John Tyker will join me shortly to break down what this peace deal could mean. Plus, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hannaway is fighting Biden-era FDA rules to let abortion drugs cross state lines, even into pro-life states. She’ll join us in a little while to discuss her fight to stop these dangerous chemical abortion drugs. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a proposed peace plan being discussed between the U.S. and Europe now includes the right elements, although sensitive issues remain. But after the talks in Geneva, the plan has been streamlined, and Zelensky says he’ll now discuss the more delicate points directly with President Trump. And joining me now is Washington’s stand reporter, Casey Harper. Casey, this is exciting news. Where’s the hope for ending this war in Ukraine actually coming from? And do you think there really is progress?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Jody. Well, it’s an interesting question. It’s one that those all around the world have been watching closely as Rubio has been there for these peace talks. But the U.S. said it made significant progress on crafting a plan to end the war in Ukraine during those talks over the weekend. But no agreement was reached on how Kiev could get those security guarantees amid concerns, naturally. about the threat posed by Russia. Now, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he led the talks in Geneva with a high-level Ukrainian delegation after Kyiv and its allies voiced alarm about a U.S.-backed plan because what they saw and others saw as major concessions to Russia, and they pressed for changes.
SPEAKER 12 :
It is probably the most productive day we have had on this issue, maybe in the entirety of our engagement, but certainly in a very long time. But work remains, and because this continues to be a working process, I don’t want to declare victory or finality here. There’s still some work to be done. But we are much further ahead today at this time than we were when we began this morning and where we were a week ago for certain.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, a lot of work to be done indeed. I think a key sticking points here, Jody, are the questions on the role of NATO and those security guarantees for Ukraine.
SPEAKER 08 :
But now encouraging to hear that progress is seemingly really being made. Casey, I know another story that you’ve been following is a potential announcement from President Trump regarding extending Obamacare subsidies for up to two years. What are you hearing about that? What can you share with us?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Jody. So the White House is expected reportedly to announce a plan to extend ACA premium subsidies for two more years. There’s been reporting on this, and there’s also reporting that they may be backing off of it because of pushback from Republicans. But there’s a plan in the mix that could be coming out any moment. So as you know, Americans are facing steep Obamacare premium hikes at the end of this year. And without something being done, millions are set for major cost increases. which kind of proves the point that critics have been making that there’s instability in these ACA marketplaces if they need these big cash infusions. So what about this plan? Well, the plan reportedly includes new limits, such as an income cap and required minimum monthly payments, which are changes that conservatives have been arguing for, though it’s unlikely that they’ll actually vote for any ACA subsidies. Now, health insurers saw their stocks rise after the announcement, even as questions remain of whether the Obamacare structure is driving premiums higher year after year. Republicans, they say Democrats were willing to let the government shutdown stretch for 43 days over this very issue. And now the question is, is this going to spark another shutdown in January when, as you know, Jody, Congress has to pass another government funding plan?
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow, yes, so much more ahead yet to go in that battle. Casey, let me let me get your thoughts on this one. A judge ruled today in the case involving former FBI director James Comey. I thought it was very interesting. What was that decision?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, that’s right. So we’re talking about a procedural ruling here, but a very big one. So a federal judge has thrown out the criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey and New York AG Letitia James, who famously went after President Trump. Now, this ruling found that the appointed attorney to this case was unlawfully installed by the president. Who was that? Well, it was Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to President Trump with no prosecutorial experience, and she was made the interim U.S. attorney in September for the purpose of leading these investigations. But now this judge is pointing to that very fact as the reason for dismissing it. So today’s decision to deliver, it’s a major setback for the DOJ’s efforts to go after these high-profile critics of President Trump, which are cases the president has publicly pushed for. But the White House says it’s not over. The DOJ will appeal. So it’s definitely something to keep an eye on, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, and we certainly will be keeping an eye on it. Well, Casey, thank you so much. I know this is the week of Thanksgiving. Before I let you go, any Thanksgiving news out there for you?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Jody, I know sometimes I’m the Debbie Downer here with the news, but some holiday news. The White House kicked off the Christmas season today. First Lady Melania Trump, she received the official Christmas tree of fir from Sydney, Michigan. And she’s celebrating, of course, the birth of Jesus Christ in this holiday season. White House tours are going to resume December 2nd after the renovations to the East Wing, including that kind of controversial new ballroom. But the President and First Lady are going to mark the Thanksgiving traditions this week. and President Trump is supposed to pardon two turkeys on Tuesday in this season of faith, family, and gratitude. But Jody, those initial reports that the turkeys were going to be deported, I can confirm that’s not true.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. Well, it looks like a beautiful tree. I’ll tell you, I always love that time of year. Watching the tree there being lit up is just spectacular year after year. Casey, thank you so much for the updates. We appreciate it. All right. I want to go back now to the latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war. And joining me now to discuss this is retired Brigadier General John Teichert. He’s a former assistant deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. General Teichert, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always an honor to have you, sir.
SPEAKER 04 :
Jody, the honor is all mine. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, well, first of all, let’s have an update on how the fighting between Russia and Ukraine has been going here lately.
SPEAKER 04 :
Jody, I think we’ve seen in the last two years essentially a stalemate. Russia has been taking some territory, but something like 1% of its overall gains only in the last two years, which means that there has been a lot of bloodshed for very little gain. And while maybe in Putin’s mind he’s winning, the fact of the matter is he is nowhere close to his maximalist aims that he envisioned almost four years ago when he attacked Ukraine.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it really is stunning to see how I think stalemate is a good way of describing it. So let’s start moving towards the talks. What do you make of what’s been coming out, at least? I don’t know if you call these hastily arranged talks or not, but the talks in Geneva. What do you make of what you’re hearing coming out of these talks?
SPEAKER 04 :
Jody, what we’ve been hearing today and yesterday is far better than what we were hearing with respect to the 28 point plan later last week, that it doesn’t seem anymore like these are Putin’s talking points, that it does sound more like this is a way true way forward to see success for the end of the war, but also for US and Ukrainian and European objectives. And I’m really happy that that team in Geneva over the weekend took a look at every point and every word in that initial 28-point plan and made sure that they changed it to make it relevant to U.S. interests and to Ukrainian interests as well, always keeping in mind that it was Russia that started this war, that it’s Russia that has sustained this war, and the only one that can make it stop is Putin, and we’ve got to make it sufficiently painful for him so that he stops the war that’s been going on for the last four years.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, very well said. And I know there is a lot of concern over the original 28 point plan or 26 or whatever it was. But the one that was leaked evidently no longer exists. As you described, that was something there was really nothing other than talking points for for Vladimir Putin. Do we know how this new 19-point framework or whatever, the one that Europe seems to be countering, how is this looking? Are we getting wind of what this looks like? Is this, as you seem to believe, really more in line with an actual peace agreement?
SPEAKER 04 :
Jody, I think there’s two points that they considered heavily yesterday. The first one is that this is always going to be a tradeoff between three primary factors, economy, geography and security. And I think those tradeoffs are all reasonable. But I think this deal hinges on security guarantees. that we’ve got to assume that Russia and Putin specifically are going to lie and are going to cheat. And unless we have ironclad security guarantees, then it just sets us up for the further phase of this conflict down the road. And what I’ve been hearing about this abbreviated plan is that it’s a lot heftier on U.S. and European security guarantees, again, to hedge against the likelihood that Putin’s going to lie and Putin’s going to cheat going forward.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, so we’re all back to, shall we say, trust but verify. We’ve heard that kind of thing before, but something similar to take place now. A Kremlin official reportedly said the European counter, the one that we’re talking about now, does not work for Russia. So… Are we kind of getting back to where we started or is there real headway in these negotiations? Do you think, in other words, is he just blowing smoke or do you think we may really be going back to the drawing board?
SPEAKER 04 :
jody i don’t even think that the 28-point plan was going to be sufficient for putin because he really has this envisioning in his mind of taking over the totality of ukraine and so i don’t even think that was going to work i think going forward that this newly crafted plan does two things number one it puts the ball back in putin’s court to demonstrate that he never has been negotiating in good faith to begin with And then number two, I think it gives time for these recently implemented sanctions to start taking hold. I actually think that the strictness of those sanctions from a couple of weeks ago that impact up to 50% of the revenue that comes into the Kremlin, is the best way to up the ante of pain for Putin so he realizes that the costs and risks are not worth continuing this war. And I think the longer we give those sanctions a chance to work and demonstrate that he’s never been interested in negotiating in good faith, then it gives us a chance to, again, remind ourselves that the reason we’re in this mess is because of Putin, and we must up the costs and the risks so that he realizes it is in his best interest to stop this conflict.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I tell you, General Teichert, we always love having you on. Your ability to break this down and give a good perspective is always appreciated. Thank you so much, General John Teichert, for joining us today on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 04 :
Jody, I’m grateful for you and Tony and FRC. Thank you very much.
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All right. Happy Thanksgiving to you. All right, friends, coming up, we have a single mom in the state of Maine that has catched this. She has been barred from taking her 12 year old daughter to church. Our case is going to be heard before the Maine Supreme Court tomorrow. Matt Staver from Liberty Council will be joining me next to unpack all of this. So don’t go away. You want to hear this. We’ll be back.
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How should Christians think about the thorny issues shaping our culture? How should Christians address deceitful ideas like transgenderism, critical theory, or assisted suicide? How can Christians navigate raising children in a broken culture, the war on gender roles, or rebuilding our once great nation? Outstanding is a podcast from The Washington Stand dedicated to these critical conversations. Outstanding seeks to tear down what our corrupt culture lifts up with an aim to take every thought and every idea captive to the obedience of Christ. Whether policies or partisan politics, whether conflict in America or conflict abroad, join us and our guests as we examine the headlines through the lens of Scripture. and explore how Christians can faithfully exalt Christ in all of life. Follow Outstanding on your favorite podcast app and look for new episodes each week.
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What is God’s role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful series that explores the connection between biblical principles and the American government, equipping you with truth to engage in today’s most pressing debates. We’ll uncover the foundations of our nation’s history and why it’s relevant for today. Join us to defend God’s plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. You can view the course at prayvotestand.org slash godandgovernment or on the Stand Firm app.
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Good afternoon. Hope you’re having a great day. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony, and thank you for tuning in. All right. Tomorrow, the Maine Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in the case of a single mom who has been barred by a custody order from taking her 12-year-old daughter to church or religious organizations. According to the custody order, the father took issue with his daughter attending Calvary Chapel Church in Portland because it teaches the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter. So he hired a sociology professor who testified in court that it was evident that the church posed a potential for psychological harm to the girl. Wow. Absolutely incredible. So what’s at stake at this case? Not just for the mother and the daughter, but more broadly. Well, joining me now to discuss this is Matt Staver. He’s the founder and chairman of Liberty Council, which will argue in behalf of the mother tomorrow. Matt, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you, Jody. I wish that your description was an exaggeration, but sadly it’s not. It’s actually even worse. Yeah, that’s…
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s what I wanted to say. Did I miss something here or is this for real? It’s unbelievable.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s for real. We weren’t the trial attorneys, but we are the appellate attorneys. And we don’t get involved in a lot of domestic custody type of cases unless they have a real significant religious freedom component. And this one certainly does. It jumps off the page. So this particular mother, Emily Bickford, she had Ava out of wedlock with Matthew Bradine over 12 years ago, and Ava now is 12. In January, she’ll be 13. And so from the time that she was born until now, Ava has been in the primary custody of her mom, Emily, and Matthew has had visitation rights. So Emily and Ava start attending Calvary Chapel Church in Portland in May of 2021. And then Ava, as an 11-year-old, wants to get baptized. Well, that sends Matthew Bedin ballistic. So he runs to court. finds the sympathetic judge, brings this, as you said, the so-called individual from California, a former sociology professor, who testifies that churches that teach the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, that believe in heaven, hell, angels, demons, salvation and the second coming of Jesus, that those are cultic, and they follow a Moses model when you have an authoritative right and wrong position based upon the Bible. That’s the Moses model. You know, we thought Moses was a great leader, but she turned it into a bad example. And so the judge bought that, And then in the order, Jody, I’ve never seen this, every time the judge in this order mentions God, it’s lowercase. Now, everyone knows what that means. Instead of having an uppercase G-O-D, God, that signifies a significant supreme being, she lowercased it, mocking the monotheistic religion, and faith of Emily and Ava, because lowercase God means multiple gods. It means polytheism. So she not only did that, she also says, by the way, that there’s no evidence of harm to Ava from being introduced to anything associated with the Bible. But these kinds of teachings about heaven and hell, right and wrong, demons and angels, the second coming, and so forth, and having salvation only through Jesus Christ and teaching the Bible, those kind of teachings, even though there’s no evidence of harm, they have the potential to cause psychological harm. So she removed all decision-making from the mom and put it into this atheist And since December of 2024, Emily has not been able to take her daughter to any church, religious event, Christmas event, Easter event, hasn’t been able to have Bible studies with her, nothing. She couldn’t go to a funeral. She couldn’t go to a wedding. She cannot associate with any person with Calvary Chapel of Portland that she’s had friends for almost four years. She had to completely cut them off based on this court order, and it doesn’t just apply to Calvary Chapel. It applies also to reading the Bible, having any exposure to religious literature, videos, or religious philosophy, whatever that is. This is unbelievably broad and unconstitutional.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I was going to say, I mean, this is a massive overreach, is it not? Yeah, absolutely. So what are the implications of this? What are the broader implications of this order, Matt? I mean, I know it’s specific to this family, but what potentially could go beyond this?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we’re at the Maine Supreme Court now, so it affects the entire state of Maine. And then in other states, other states rely upon other state Supreme Courts for precedent. And so this will set precedent not only for Maine, but for other courts as well. If this is upheld, what this does to parents who are Christians is allow someone to have a total absolute veto that’s not reviewable by anyone, just an absolute veto over anything regarding Christianity, church, Bible, events, you name it, friends, all of that combined. That’s why it’s so significantly important. It’s unbelievable that it’s actually in print, but it is, and now it’s at the Maine Supreme Court. So continue to pray for Emily Bickford. and her daughter Ava, and also even for Matthew, that he has a change of heart. But the implications of this, Jody, are far beyond just this case. It affects people all over the country.
SPEAKER 08 :
So what needs to happen here, and what do you anticipate is going to happen?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, there’ll be six justices on the main Supreme Court, and we need to obviously get a majority of those to win this case. But we actually are raising the First Amendment under the United States Constitution. So if the main Supreme Court doesn’t go the right way, we still have the U.S. Supreme Court as a backup. However, as you know, it’s hard to get cases before the Supreme Court. They only take about 1%. So really, this is the ultimate battle. So pray for Emily Bickford and her daughter, Ava, that we have a resounding victory.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, the fact that the judge used a little g for God here, would this also apply not just to Christianity, but any kind of religious teaching from any position that may be deemed religious?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, in fact, you know, we’ve actually made this argument that it’s insulting to all different religions that are monotheistic, particularly, you know, Christianity and Judaism. And to even use the model as though it’s a bad thing. It’s really an insult to against Christianity in our Judeo-Christian faith.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. Unbelievable. We will be following this. Thank you, Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Council. Always great to have you. Thank you for this. And Godspeed. God be with you and all tomorrow as you deal with the Maine Supreme Court. Thank you for joining us today.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you, Jerry. My pleasure.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, coming up, there’s a new legal effort to stop the trafficking of dangerous abortion drugs across state lines. More legal battles all over the place. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hannaway will be joining me next to discuss this one. So don’t go away. We’ll be back.
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At Family Research Council, we believe religious freedom is a fundamental human right that all governments must protect. For years, Islamist militants in Nigeria have targeted Christians and other religious minority groups with brutal violence. Since 2009, 52,000 Christians have been slaughtered, as staggering 89% of Christian martyrs in the world today are from Nigeria. The first Trump administration declared Nigeria a country of particular concern, a designation reserved for countries whose governments engage in or tolerate religious freedom violations. However, this designation of Nigeria was quickly reversed by the Biden administration. Following consistent calls from FRC President Tony Perkins and other religious leaders across the U.S., President Donald Trump has responded.
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DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States of America, Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands and thousands of Christians are being killed. I am hereby making Nigeria a country of particular concern.
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This is a huge step forward for the protection of Christians in Nigeria as well as religious freedom across the world. While this opens the door for the U.S. government to pressure Nigerian leaders to protect vulnerable Christians, it is only the beginning. We must continue to pray diligently, work strategically, and stand firm for the protection of religious liberty across the globe.
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Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to The Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at The Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss filling in for Tony. Thank you for joining us. All right. There is growing pushback against the Biden era FDA policies that have allowed dangerous abortion drugs to be trafficked across state lines, including into states with pro-life laws. And among the latest efforts is one by Missouri’s Attorney General, who last week filed a new challenge to stop these dangerous high-risk chemical drugs from flooding the country through mail-order distribution. And joining me now to discuss this is Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hannaway. Attorney General Hannaway, welcome to Washington Watch, and we appreciate you coming on board with us.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you very much, Congressman, or should I say pastor, or just all-around good guy?
SPEAKER 08 :
Your call. Amy is fine. Listen, federal law, as we all know, has long prohibited sending abortion drugs through the mail, but that’s not stopping these abortion traffickers right now, is it?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, we are very concerned about, particularly the drug methadone, which causes a chemical abortion, often later in pregnancy, and that these women right now are not required to be seeing a doctor. And we’re terribly concerned for the health of the women. Not only the fact that they’re terminating pregnancy, but that there’s real risk to the woman that she could have side effects that could be life threatening.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. So let’s talk about that. Some of the side effects, you know, I mean, aside from violating federal law, I mean, these abortion traffickers, drug traffickers are undermining state laws. But can you capitalize on what you just said? And what are some of the hospitals in Missouri seeing as a result of these drugs?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, the hospitals are seeing women who obviously have gone through this very traumatic experience of terminating a pregnancy, but then their body has to deal with the deceased fetus and expel that from their body. And so when it doesn’t go well, they may bleed out. They may seize. They may have a stroke. It’s it’s. a real threat to these women and their well being. And if they don’t understand that it is the direct result of this drug, they might not seek medical attention right away. And what these hospitals are seeing is that these women are coming in in really critical condition. Whereas if they’d been under the care of a doctor the entire time, if they’d been counseled as to what the risks are, they might have sought medical help much sooner or not needed it at all.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow. Yeah, and the abortion drug zone labeling, the information there roughly says that one in 25 women who take these chemical abortion drugs end up in the emergency room. I can only imagine what kind of response there would be if some other product did that. But I think we probably all know, because this is about abortion products, Everybody says we need to keep it accessible and it’s totally safe. What do you make of that?
SPEAKER 11 :
I think it’s tragic that our culture has come to a point where a drug that ends the life of a baby is something that is sacrosanct and being protected by people. You’re right. If any other drug was killing people at a rate out of well, killing anyone. And here we have, it’s pretty much a hundred percent effective against the babies. But then to have one out of every 25 women having real critical health crises as a result, it would be, there’d be an uproar. And certainly the trial lawyers would be at the front of the line to capitalize on that.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, I’m sure you’re right about that. So what are you asking the courts to do here? Walk us through what you’re trying to accomplish.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, specifically, we’re asking that the courts halt the sale until such time as there is a requirement that physicians be involved in delivering this care.
SPEAKER 08 :
So when do you how long do you expect this process to take?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, sadly, we’ve already been in court on the drug of methapristone for a number of months. We’ve added the most recently approved by the FDA generic drug, which is, it’s still methylpristone, it’s just another generic. So I would anticipate that we’re talking six months to a year before we really have any action in this case.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow, a lot more damage to a lot more women and babies, of course, can take place over that period of time. I think it’s also worth noting that the Trump administration can also do something about this. What is it that would be, if you could say something, what would be your message to the administration right now over this issue?
SPEAKER 11 :
My message would be that there is a lot of harm being done to women There’s a lot of harm being done to babies. There are alternatives to this that are much more responsible, and I would just ask that the FDA reconsider its approval of this drug and really think about the risk of just these pills showing up in the mail to these women coming from who knows what source. often sources outside the United States, and to protect these women and to protect the unborn and withdraw the approvals of these drugs.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, thank you so much, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hannaway. Thank you for your leadership on this, and thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you, Mr. All-Around Good Guy. I really appreciate it, Jody. Thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER 08 :
It was my honor. Happy Thanksgiving. All right. By the way, we here at FRC have a petition calling on the Trump administration to restore and strengthen those FDA safety standards for Mifepristone. And we’re asking them to direct the Department of Justice to enforce federal law. We ask you to get on board with that petition. Text the word LIFE to 67742. All right, coming up, there’s a lot more news that took place over the weekend. We’ll try to cover as much as we can right after the break.
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Are you looking for a meaningful gift to share this Christmas? Family Research Council has you covered. Check out the Stand on the Word official store for gear and gifts that are thoughtfully designed to help you wear, share, and stand boldly on scripture. Check out our Christmas bundle for a $25 discount. Visit frc.org slash BibleStore or text STORE to 67742. That’s STORE to 67742.
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For over 4,000 years, the Jewish people have had legal, historical, and biblical ties to the land of Israel, especially the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, which much of the world still calls the West Bank. To Israelis, Judea and Samaria is far more than a name. It’s the center of their ancestral homeland where nearly 80% of the Bible’s events took place. Abraham purchased property in Hebron, Jacob in Shechem, Joshua made an altar on Mount Ebal and led the Israelites into a covenant before God. On Mount Gerizim, overlooking Shechem, Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well about worshiping neither on Mount Gerizim nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth. Judea and Samaria is nearly a quarter of Israel’s current land mass, not a small strip of land on the Jordan River, but a vital and strategic part of the nation’s identity. The October 7th massacre, launched from Gaza, shattered the illusion that giving away territory brings peace. Gaza, which was once seen as the cornerstone of a two-state solution, became a launch pad for terror. Today, only 21 percent of Israelis support a Palestinian state. Trust in a two-state solution has all but collapsed. The Middle East is changing. Iran’s grip is weakening. New alliances are forming. But Western countries and some U.S. officials still chase the mirage of a two-state solution. History speaks clearly. The 2005 Gaza withdrawal, backed by the U.S., led not to peace, but to a terrorist regime. Judea and Samaria are 24 times larger than Gaza, deeply woven into Israel’s geographic and spiritual fabric. To surrender them would not bring peace. It would invite conflict and existential danger. Family Research Council stands with Israel’s rightful claim to sovereignty. It’s time for America to do the same for history, for justice, and for lasting security in the Middle East.
SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
Well, thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss filling in for Tony. Thank you so much for tuning in. All right, it’s hard to believe 2026 is almost here. Where has the year gone? Christmas is around the corner, as is a brand new year. And I want to encourage you to sign up for our 2026-2027 cycle of FRC’s Stand on the Word Bible reading plan. As you’d probably know by now, 2026 is the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth. And what better way is there to celebrate the founding of our nation than committing to that which ought to be the foundation of everything, the Word of God. So we ask you to come on, make plans now to join us for the next two-year journey as we go through the Bible together. It all starts on January 1st. It will be foundational for you and for America’s 250th anniversary. So to get more details on how to sign up, simply go to frc.org slash Bible or simply text the word Bible. to 677-42. We look forward to you joining us for that incredible journey through the Bible. All right. There’s been obviously a lot, a lot of news that took place over the weekend that we simply have not been able to cover today. Yesterday, for example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced another development in the Jewish nation’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Prime Minister Netanyahu shared that the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, eliminated Hezbollah’s mass murdering chief of staff. And beyond that, there were other news items that we’d like to get to as many of them as we can to discuss. So joining me now is Washington’s from the Washington San Casey Harper, who is a managing editor for broadcast and Mark Tapscott, who is the senior congressional analyst. Casey and Mark, I want to thank both you gentlemen for joining me. Good to see you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Great to be here, Congressman.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, Casey, let me start with you. And the news is coming out of Israel that I just referenced. We now have a deceased Hezbollah chief of staff who was certainly more than a paper pusher. In fact, he had a $5 million bounty on his head. If you can unpack for us the actual destruction that this man paved.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Hezbollah Chief of Staff. That’s quite the title for your LinkedIn profile, right? But I think a lot of people maybe don’t have as much familiarity with Hezbollah, what they are. Think of Hezbollah as Hamas to the north for Israel, from Israel’s perspective. And In some ways, you could argue that they’re stronger than Hamas, and they still are. And they’re more fortified, more well-funded. They’re one of these Iranian-funded groups that has been launching attacks, missile attacks, on northern Israel for years. And actually, Hezbollah has been involved in attacking Israel since even the 90s. And so this is a decades-long thorn in the side of Israel. It’s had different variations, different wars, and of course, different leadership at different times. And same for Israel. It’s had different leadership at different times. But they’ve been driven by this one core command, core conviction, which is destroy Israel at all costs, parts of Israel have been evacuated for months and months because it’s not safe to live there because Hezbollah is firing rockets on civilians there, thousands of rockets, according to Israel. And so Israel’s fought back. They killed this really, you know, it kind of depends how you look at it, but it’s really second-in-command leader who has been leading their, as well as paramilitary organization, which has done allegedly kidnappings, killed a lot of people for many years, focused on killing Israel. So this is just the latest in this ongoing… between Israel and Hezbollah, but it is noteworthy because they had a sort of ceasefire in place. But I think that this target was really too juicy for Israel to pass up in their perspective.
SPEAKER 08 :
OK, see before I jump over to Mark, remind us just how phenomenally successful I guess you can say the job a phenomenal job that Israel has done when it comes to dismantling Hezbollah since October 7th and the terror attacks.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I mean, I think October 7th was a real wake-up call, a galvanizing moment for the Israeli people, the Israeli leadership, Israeli military. They have really wreaked havoc on Hamas, of course, in Gaza, on Hezbollah and Iran. Now, they’ve paid a heavy price with public opinion of the world. They’ve taken a lot of criticism for it. And so you could say they’ve lost in that sense. But on the ground, when you look at the military aspect of this, Hamas is utterly destroyed. Their tunnels destroyed. Their supply chain is destroyed. Hezbollah, they’ve been, you know, thousands, allegedly 3,000 killed. They’ve destroyed a lot of tunnels. Hezbollah has the same trick where they tunnel into Israel, which we’re more familiar with, with Hamas. And then, of course, you know, Iran may not seem relevant to this, but it’s all sort of different heads to the same beast, anti-Israel beast. And so they’ve neutralized Iranians’ nuclear program vis-a-vis the U.S., and they exchanged missiles for many weeks on that—or for many days, rather, in that 12-day war. where Israel took some shots but generally held their own and destroyed a lot of Iranian targets. So Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran all neutralized to varying degrees. And also I’ll remind you of that pager incident, Jody, where those hundreds and hundreds of pagers were given to Hezbollah terrorists and then they blew up at just the time that Israel chose and wreaked a lot of damage as well. So it’s been a pretty systematic dismantling of Hezbollah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. Can you hear me now? That was one that we’ll always remember. Mark, let me jump over your way and kind of broaden our discussion here. I think it’s noteworthy that Hezbollah is a proxy of Iran. And of course, Israel’s fight with them is one of several fronts, as Casey just referenced, a multi-front war that they’re involved with. But another front is if we will, an eighth, if we can, is what Benjamin Netanyahu has referred to as a battle for truth. What has Israel been up against on that front of this whole battle?
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, you said in your opening, Congressman, that there was a tremendous amount of news over this past weekend. One of the most important things that we learned this weekend was Elon Musk and X let go with a algorithm that identified the location of a person who was posting on X. And lo and behold, what we discover, we discovered that a whole bunch of folks who had been posting all kinds of stuff on X claiming to be in Gaza claiming to be suffering or witnessing great suffering, all of which they attributed to the IDF, in fact, were fakes. They were in other places, London, in India. I think there was one even in Russia. And we’re just beginning to get the full extent of just how many of these fake posters on X have been. That’s an example of the kind of propaganda onslaught that Israel faces every day in the American news media, the European news media, and on social media. And thank goodness that Elon Musk said, yes, turn on the locator. Let’s see where these people are.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, that’s good. And, you know, it is I think that is a great example of the truth battle involved in this. And I think it becomes so important that we have truth being spoken. Casey, going back to the elimination of this senior Hezbollah member. does does his demise now send a uh a greater i don’t know potential of implications for the middle east uh and on israel’s efforts and abilities and capacity to defend itself yeah i think it does jody i mean it does a few things one it it makes you wonder how long these peace deals are going to hold up i mean uh gaza you know
SPEAKER 14 :
three Palestinian alleged terrorists approached Israeli soldiers and crossed the boundary line and were killed over the weekend as well, these last few days. And so we’ve had these ongoing strikes despite the peace deal, the back and forth between Hamas and Israel. And I think that one seems pretty justified because Hamas is apparently retaking power. And then Hezbollah, is getting struck as well. And so these peace deals, they’re in question because Hezbollah is supposed to be disarming. The Lebanese government kind of refuses or is unable to get them under control. And it seems like they were maybe gathering strength again. So one, it makes you question these peace deals if they’re really long term. And then two, I think it sends a message to the Arab world in particular that regardless of what President Trump or the U.S. says about these peace deals, when it comes down to it, Israel is reserving the right to attack whoever they want. And I think they are working with the U.S., doing these peace deals, going along, submitting to the U.S., but also they’re sending the message of, hey, we still control our own fate, and if we find a target and we want to send a missile over there, we don’t always have to ask permission. Now, we don’t know if they did ask the U.S. permission, but I think that’s the part of the message they’re sending here, is we can still kill you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Very interesting. All right, let me shift gears, gentlemen, and I’ll jump back over to you, Mark. There’s been a lot of buzz today over how President Trump might address the issue of Obamacare subsidies. I know you and I have had this discussion in the past, but fill us in on what’s going on there.
SPEAKER 06 :
I tell you, Congressman, I’ve been on the phone and on my laptop all day trying to get a good handle on where things stand. We were told this morning early by Politico that the president was going to make an announcement either today or tomorrow of his basic plan for a, there’s going to be a vote sometime probably early in December, which the president and the House, congressional Republican leaders promised to the Democrats as part of the deal to bring the government back open. And that vote will be on what to do about the Obamacare tax subsidies. Well, as the day developed, we also began hearing that maybe that’s not going to happen. And it didn’t happen today. And in fact, I was told on background by some folks in the White House that may not happen at all. There’s so much opposition growing within the House Republican leadership, especially, though none of them have said anything on the record today. So it’s going to be a battle.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, that is a battle, and that’s information I was certainly not aware of. Casey, this whole issue was supposedly, at least, the whole reason why the Democrats shut down the government, correct?
SPEAKER 14 :
That’s right. We paid a heavy price for this whole debate. Republicans always promise that when we reopen the government, then we’ll have a debate and a vote on health care. So I guess in some sense they’re keeping that promise, and there is a promised Senate vote on these ACA subsidies coming down the pike. I think what we’re seeing here, I used to work as a communications director on Capitol Hill. Of course, Jodi, you know a lot more about Capitol Hill than I do, and probably you too, Mark. But what I think we saw here is sometimes when you want to kill something or stop something from happening, the best way to do that is to leak it to the wrong person preemptively and start a negative narrative in the media that’s impossible to overcome. And so I think that’s what happened here. Now, with that being said, I’m not sure this plan would have ever been successful. As you pointed out on the show, Jody, Republicans have never voted for Obamacare subsidies, ever. In fact, many, many Republicans have voted to repeal these Obamacare subsidies. So the idea that Trump could put his stamp on it and then send out some Obamacare subsidies I think was going to always be a tough sell. Of course, Family Research Council has been really focused on making sure that we don’t fund abortions or transgender care if there are any subsidies or changes to Obamacare at all. But I think it was always going to be a tough sell to, hey, Republicans, we’ve got to pass these ACA subsidies. But the thing I’ll throw back to you, Jody, is I think what Trump is right about here is that affordability has to remain the Republicans’ priority. Whether it’s ACA subsidies or whatever it is, you have to keep talking about affordability, putting plans forward. If it’s not this way, another way to make things cheaper for Americans who are struggling right now.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. And by the way, we do have a petition on this to try to make sure that abortion and so forth stays out of it. Encourage our viewers and listeners, if you want to sign that petition, simply text ACA to 67742. ACA to 67742. All right, Mark. So what’s going to be the outcome of all of this? Your prediction? You’ve got the crystal ball, so to speak, there in front of you. What’s going to happen?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think we don’t know yet. And there’s two basic issues here that I think, based on what I’ve heard today, are the real core of the discussion that’s going on behind the scenes between the White House and the congressional Republicans. Number one, as Casey just alluded to, affordability being the central issue, they’re probably going to have some kind of a compromise on a year or two-year extension of the tax subsidies. That’ll make the insurance companies happy because it’ll keep the billions of dollars going to them that they’re presently getting. And it will do something that will allow everybody to say, well, we tried to keep things affordable. The second one, though, Trump, at least what I’ve been told, this is not confirmed by the White House, but I’ve heard it from some good sources, has said, let’s raise the income ceiling for getting the tax subsidies to 700%. of the federal poverty level. It’s presently 400%. I have a suspicion that’s the thing that really set off some folks on Capitol Hill saying, wait a minute, what are we doing here? I have to correct one other thing too, Jody, Congressman. Casey, I was a communications director on the Hill too, but the dinosaurs were still roaming over in Foggy Bottom at the
SPEAKER 14 :
You didn’t have to go down to the Smithsonian.
SPEAKER 06 :
So you were in the Senate.
SPEAKER 08 :
Is that what you’re saying?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, it was a long time ago. That’s good.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, Mark, our time’s just about run out. Mark, before I let you go, Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announced her retirement. Rather stunning news. How is that going to impact the vote margin there in the House?
SPEAKER 06 :
Probably giving Democrats some false hopes because there will be other special elections between now and the next Congress and I don’t see any real reason to think that you know the margins going to be maybe one vote closer, but you never know. I just don’t think it’s you know. Mike Johnson is accustomed to having close close votes and he’s going to have some more.
SPEAKER 08 :
He is going to have some more alright Casey and last 30 seconds to you on the deportation efforts that the president has been involved with. How’s that going? What’s it look like real quickly?
SPEAKER 14 :
Sure, I think the thing that people are talking about right now is they just hit half a million deportations. The administration is claiming one and a half million self-deportations. That would put them at two, but still less of the deporter-in-chief, Barack Obama, who did three million deportations in his time in office.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it’s not over yet. Let’s wait and see what happens. Thank you, gentlemen. Casey Harper, Mark Tapscott of The Washington Stand. Always great to have you join me. All right, friends, that wraps up this edition of Washington Watch. Have a fantastic evening and we’ll see you again tomorrow. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family, and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That’s GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit TonyPerkins.com.
