In this episode of Washington Watch, Jody Heiss steps in as host to cover an array of pressing topics impacting both domestic and international affairs. Kicking off with updates from Capitol Hill, we dive into discussions on notable legislative activities including the NDAA and ongoing healthcare reforms led by Congressman Andy Harris. With special guests like Sarah Holliday and Jasper Keene, the discussion delves into significant geopolitical issues such as U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East and the evolving situation in Syria.
SPEAKER 18 :
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 03 :
When I became majority leader, I made it very clear that I was committed to funding the government through the regular order consideration of appropriations bills, not through an omnibus or long-term CR, oftentimes written behind closed doors. The regular order process gives senators from both parties the fullest chance to make their voices and the voices of their constituents heard. Which is why I’m disappointed that we will not be moving to our second package of appropriations bills tonight. Republicans were ready to go. But unfortunately, my Democrat colleagues are not there yet.
SPEAKER 08 :
That was Senate Majority Leader John Thune last night after Democrats made an unsuccessful final attempt to pass a minibus. They tried that right before the House and the Senate went on recess. Welcome to this December 19th edition of Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Thanks so much for joining us. All right. Coming up after a busy week of votes on Capitol Hill, including things like the NDAA and the Republican health care measures, including, by the way, letting the not so affordable care act subsidies expire. Congress has now gone on recess and Maryland Congressman Andy Harris will be joining me here momentarily to recap the week and to discuss what’s ahead. And then later in the program, Dr. David Claussen, Director of the Center for Biblical Worldview here at the Family Research Council, will be joining me to analyze this week’s news from a biblical perspective, including the important news and updates on euthanasia. president donald trump signed the nearly one trillion dollar defense bill into law thursday night that’s the national defense authorization act it is a record 901 billion dollars in military spending including pay raises for the troops and new ships and aircraft billions of dollars in aid to ukraine the law also boosts u.s security commitments in europe It limits troop reductions there, and it codifies several of President Trump’s Pentagon priorities. And joining me now to discuss this and bring us some other highlight news is Sarah Holliday with the Washington Stand. She’s been following today’s stories. Sarah, let’s start with this one. The President has signed the defense bill, the NDAA, into law. What’s in it, and why is it drawing a lot of attention?
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, Jodi. The fiscal 2026 NDAA funds the military at $901 billion, which is actually $8 billion more than Trump requested. It includes $800 million for Ukraine, funding for the Baltic states, and restrictions on reducing U.S. forces in Europe. The law also supports missile defense and eliminates certain Pentagon programs, all of which aligns with Trump’s priorities. Here’s what Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had to say about the bill.
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This will be the 65th year in a row the 65th consecutive year that Congress has come together across the aisle and across two chambers to send the president a bill designed to sustain and strengthen the national defense. And the president will enthusiastically sign the most sweeping upgrades to DOD’s business practices in 60 years.
SPEAKER 01 :
Jodi, experts are noting a tension with Trump’s usual stance on Europe. The bill strengthens security commitments abroad, which is something he has opposed before. Ultimately, Congress has passed the NDAA every year for 65 years, making it one of the most enduring pieces of U.S. defense legislation. Jodi.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, that’s one of those must pass bills. Very interesting. In some other news, Sarah, I wanted to ask you about New York City’s mayor elects are on mom Donnie’s. One of his top age resigned literally after just one day on the job. What in the world led to that sudden departure?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, Jodi, Catherine Almonte de Costa stepped down as director of appointments after old social media posts surfaced containing anti-Semitic comments. She apologized, saying she deeply regrets the harm she caused and didn’t want to distract from the work ahead. Mayor-elect Mamdani, the first Muslim and self-described socialist to be elected mayor, condemned the posts and accepted her resignation. The controversy comes as Mamdani faces criticism over past anti-Israel remarks he’s made, which led to struggles in winning support from the Jewish community. Groups like the Anti-Defamation League say the situation highlights the need for transparency and accountability in his upcoming administration. Jodi.
SPEAKER 08 :
Pretty bumpy road getting started there on some international news. I saw Secretary of State Marco Rubio is saying that the US is pushing for progress on several major Middle East issues. Can you give us the latest of whatever diplomatic actions are involving Israel and Lebanon, Syria and Gaza and so forth?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, Jodi. Speaking at the State Department today, Secretary Rubio said the U.S. is hopeful talks between Lebanon and Israel will prevent further conflict. He said the goal is a stronger Lebanese government and the eventual disarmament of Hezbollah.
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We are hopeful that the talks between Lebanese authorities and the Israelis will create outlines and a way forward that prevents further conflict. I don’t speak for the Israeli government. I can only tell you and echo what they’ve said publicly, and that is that if they feel threatened by Hezbollah, they will take actions in their defense against them. So we all would hope that we could avoid that. We would all hope that in order to have peace, you have to avoid that. And the best way to avoid it is to have a strong Lebanese government that can actually control the country and that Hezbollah is no longer an armed threat to Israel or to the Lebanese state. And that’s what we’re committed to hoping to achieve.
SPEAKER 01 :
Secretary Rubio also said that the Trump administration is working to enforce the Gaza ceasefire through a proposed international stabilization force. Meanwhile, the U.S. has officially lifted the most sweeping sanctions on Syria, known as the Caesar Act. The measures were imposed in 2019 over human rights abuses under former President Bashar Assad, after Assad was ousted late last year. Supporters argued these sanctions were blocking reconstruction and economic recovery. Syria welcomed the move today. However, the decision has drawn criticism, with some lawmakers warning that lifting sanctions weakens U.S. leverage. This comes as reports continue of persecution against Christians in Suwaida and concerns grow over religious freedom and protections for Druze, Christians and other minority communities. Jodi.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, that is certainly an issue raising a lot of concern. In fact, a little bit later in the program, we’ll be joined by Oklahoma Congressman Jasper Keene, who will be zeroing in on that issue, the sanctions and the situation there in Syria. Thank you so much, Sarah. Appreciate the updates. All right, I want to draw my attention now, get a perspective from someone on Capitol Hill. Now that the Senate and the House is on Christmas break, I want us to look back at what happened this past week and this past year, but also start looking ahead. as to what we can expect to take place in Congress in 2026. And joining me now to discuss this is Congressman Dr. Andy Harris. Of course, he’s the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, also a member of the Appropriations Committee. He represents the 1st Congressional District of the great state of Maryland. Dr. Harris, always great to have you on Washington Watch. Thanks for joining me.
SPEAKER 09 :
Great to be with you, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, a lot of news out there this week. You guys have been extremely busy, but looking back at this week in particular, we’ll start there. What do you hope that the American people saw unfold on Capitol Hill?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, the most important thing we did, Jody, is we actually dealt with health care premiums for over 150 million Americans, not just the Biden bonus, Obamacare enhanced subsidies for a few million Americans, but literally changing or attempting to change health care law to allow decreased premiums and more choice, patient choice for literally 150 million Americans. And we did that. Again, no Democrats joined us. I was surprised because I thought they were all about lowering costs and affordability. But apparently it’s only, if you’re on the Unaffordable Care Act, that’s the only cost they care about. And their solution to that is just more government subsidies instead of actually changing the law and shifting some of the power in health care from insurance companies to patients.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I was kind of surprised at that as well. Another thing that happened this week, although not specifically in Congress, but indirectly, but the HHS announced a series of proposed regulations putting an end to gender mutilation of minors. By the way, that’s what the left calls gender affirming care. But nonetheless, this is an issue that I know you and several of your colleagues have been pressing the White House on. Does this look like it actually flowed perhaps from some of your conversations with the administration, do you think?
SPEAKER 09 :
We think it did, Jody. I know as part of the negotiations on one big beautiful bill, we wanted the White House to crack down on Medicaid funds, so federal taxpayer dollars being spent on what we call, what I call gender denying or gender rejecting care, because that’s really what it is. It doesn’t affirm gender. It actually rejects or denies someone’s gender, and especially for children. We think that that form of mutilation, that form of of health care abuse really has to end in the United States.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, absolutely. And thank you again for taking your lead on that. Going back to Capitol Hill, you know, one thing that happened seemed to happen every single year when I was there, and I know you’re accustomed to it as well. But this Christmas, no omnibus that’s going to be voted on. that you’re going to have to unwrap whatever’s in it for the American people. But I wanted to share a quick clip for you from Speaker Johnson. He was talking with Tony on their weekend program called This Week on Capitol Hill. But let me share this quick clip and get your reaction to it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, the third year in a row, because this is my third December, you know, Tony, we’re not talking about an end of the year Christmas omnibus spending bill, right? We broke the fever. We finally have changed the way Congress does it. We’re getting back to the regular appropriations process, 12 individual separate bills instead of just doing it all in one big, massive piece of legislation right before Christmas. So, look, that’s a big innovation. It’s a big thing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Anything you want to add to that?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, look, the House is way ahead of the Senate on that. We passed all the 12 bills through the committee. We passed a handful of them through the floor. And of course, three bills just a few weeks ago, we passed through both chambers and to the president’s desk. We don’t have omnibus bills. The Christmas omnibus was really just a way to increase spending and let the big spenders plot things behind closed doors and smoke-filled rooms. We’re doing away with that. It’s a slow progress, but we’re making progress, and the American people should be very happy about that because that’s the first step in solving our fiscal problems.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely, and congratulations for breaking the link in that chain. About 30 seconds or so left. What are some of the big priorities that you’ll be facing coming back in January?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, we do have to still deal with the health care cost issues. Again, hundreds of billions of dollars flowing to insurance companies that don’t result in health care. They result in actually denying health care by companies. And then we have to tackle government spending and government waste. And the administration is doing a great job, and Congress hopefully can help.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, thank you so much, Maryland Congressman Dr. Andy Harris. Great job for a great year, really, first year of this new administration. Thank you for your leadership on so many fronts, including the Freedom Caucus there. Keep the torch ablaze. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
SPEAKER 09 :
We will. Merry Christmas, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you. All right, friends, coming up, I wanna discuss the return of faith. The return of faith is taking place at the Pentagon. It’s really quite moving. And we wanna look at it and discuss what it means for our men and women in uniform. So stay tuned with us. This is gonna be very encouraging segment. We’ll get to it right after the break.
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Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, and I want to invite you to join me for Stand on the Word, a daily journey through the Bible, 10 to 15 minutes a day. That’s all it takes. And in no time, you’ll have finished the entire Bible. And along the way, we’ll learn how to apply God’s truths to the world in which we live. As we’re about to start a new year and as our nation is about to celebrate 250 years, there’s never been a better time for a fresh start in the Word of God. To join us, text BIBLE to 67742. That’s BIBLE to 67742. Family Research Council, along with congressional friends of FRC, present The Christmas Story, a reading from the Gospel of Luke. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.
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And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city.
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Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea.
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Unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.
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Because he was of the house and of the lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child.
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And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
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And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.
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Because there was no room for them in the inn.
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And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
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Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around about them, and they were sore afraid.
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And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.
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which shall be unto all people.
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For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
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And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host. Praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
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And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go even into Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
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And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.
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And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
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And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
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But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
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And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God. For all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas from FRC.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hope you’re all prepared for a Merry Christmas. Thank you for tuning in today to Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Glad to have you with us. All right, earlier this week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hosted a Christmas service in the courtyard of the Pentagon’s massive complex. And the program included remarks from the secretary, along with Reverend Franklin Graham, and it was explicitly billed as a service celebrating Christmas. Wow, what a change from the Biden administration. Earlier this week, Secretary of Hague Seth also announced some major changes to the War Department’s chaplain program. Well, what are the changes and what are they going to mean going forward for the thousands upon thousands of Christian men and women in uniform? We’re now here to unpack that and more is Chris Motes. He’s a senior counsel at First Liberty Institute. Chris, welcome to Washington Watch. It’s an honor to have you.
SPEAKER 15 :
Thank you, Joni. Pleasure to be with you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, first of all, if you would remind us of some of the religious freedom violations that we’d seen under the Obama and Biden administrations when it came to military chaplains. I know First Liberty Institute was instrumental in many of those cases.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, that’s right. Religious freedom in the military obviously isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a constitutional one. But unfortunately, we’ve seen different administrations take very different approaches. COVID was a very difficult time for religious freedom in the military. We saw tens of thousands of troops leave the military during that time. Religious accommodation requests were rejected en masse, effectively none of them granted, while at the same time we saw medical and other administrative exemptions granted, clear religious bias. We’ve also seen in the past suppression and censorship of chaplains, reprimanded, censored for preaching biblical truth. And First Liberty has been really honored to step in and defend those chaplains and those service members over the years.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, you brought a couple of them. My time in Congress dealt with both of those issues. I know we were covered up during the COVID era with complaints and just absolute religious liberties being trampled upon by our men and women in uniform. Why do you think that took place? What was the message that the previous administration was trying to send?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, they’re really sending a message that faith and religious freedom were subordinate to critical theories that sort of reign supreme as political ideologies. We saw these DEI struggle sessions and sort of the punishment of any sort of religious dissent that it was intended to send a clear message. If you stand up for your faith, We’re going to come after you. It will be very painful. And that had a real chilling effect. You know, people began asking questions like, is it safe? Am I going to get in trouble if I’m living my faith and, you know, public as a Christian or a person of faith? So it’s very encouraging to see that shift.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it really is. It’s like a shift of night and day right now, and I know recruiting is up, and many of those men and women, some of them have come back because of the change that’s taken place. So that’s a good segue to just asking of your overall assessment of Secretary Hegseth’s changes that he’s making. Let’s start with the chaplaincy.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, it’s wonderful to see, you know, to see his message earlier this week. I mean, he highlighted this Army Spiritual Fitness Guide, 112-page document, supposedly focused on spiritual fitness, but in all these, you know, thousands and thousands of words, 112 pages, mentions God only but once. That’s kind of shocking to see. So for him to very clearly just say, I’m rescinding this, We’re going to go back to where faith is honored and cherished. We’re not afraid to speak the name of God. That’s a really, really encouraging thing and is indicative of good things to come, I think.
SPEAKER 08 :
Do we know what some of those specific policy changes will be? What will it look like?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, kind of relatedly, actually, President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission just met last week in Dallas. And in that meeting, they specifically looked at religious freedom in the military. They’re going to be making some recommendations to the president that we’re really excited to see. We know the whole administration has been very strong on religious freedom. It’s not just tolerated. It’s actually cherished. as a source of strength for our armed forces. That’s really great. One thing that we’re excited about in the next year is a bill that’s circulating right now, the Military Chaplain Act, being sponsored by Representative Self of Texas. Looks strongly positioned to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act next year, something that would elevate conscience protections for military chaplains and would give them a stronger position, a stronger footing as really religious and spiritual advisors to the commanders and in their service to the troops.
SPEAKER 08 :
Congressman Self is a great leader. He’s on the program with us frequently. I’m glad to see him leading on that issue. Are there some other policy recommendations that you would suggest to possibly enhance these protections that we’re seeing come about?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and this is something that we know the administration is doing. They’re giving very clear guidance to commanders that religious accommodations need to be given. When a troop makes a request for a religious accommodation, maybe a change of work schedule so that they can attend Sunday worship, all sorts of different requests that come to a commander’s desk, commanders need to be empowered to affirm their troops’ faith, recognizing that it is a source of strength. It makes them a better troop. to be able to live their faith fully. So changes like that are really positive. We’re very encouraged to see them. And we do think there’s more coming.
SPEAKER 08 :
So your overall thoughts and more coming, that’s great to hear. Your overall thoughts on how Secretary Hicks has promoted the role of faith throughout the whole Pentagon.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, I mean, the worship services that he’s done is very striking. There’s been kind of a general sense in the last number of years that we need to take care not to offend anybody. You know, in legal terms, we talk about the so-called heckler’s veto, you know, under… under an old, outdated case law, you know, one person that was offended, the heckler could kind of veto the whole thing. Let’s know more. It’s never been the case in the military. There’s always been a tradition of having chaplains. But what we’re seeing with Secretary Hegseth leading the way in bringing faith back into the Pentagon, kind of really elevating the role of chaplains as not as social workers or as he put it, emotional support officers, but as as men of God, leading troops, pastoring their souls. It’s really encouraging to see. And I think it’s going to help a lot of those Japanese be really free to leave their faith. Very good.
SPEAKER 08 :
Chris Motz, Senior Counsel at First Liberty. Thank you for joining us. All right, friends, coming up, Jasper Keene will join me with what’s happening in Syria. Very important news. So stay with us. We’ll be back right after the break.
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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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The book of Hebrews says that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Stand on the Word is Family Research Council’s journey through the living and active Word of God. Follow the plan starting January 1st. Spend 10 to 15 minutes a day reading God’s word. And over the course of two years, discover that the Bible is one big story. A story of many words pointing to the word. The one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. because the Word is alive and His name is Jesus. Find our Bible reading plan and daily devotionals from Tony Perkins at frc.org slash Bible. Join us as we stand on the Word.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heist, and thank you so much for joining us today. All right, this week, President Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act, the NDAA, and that’s for fiscal year 2026. And certainly there’s a lot in the bill, a lot of positives in the bill, but there’s at least one item that has certainly raised concern among many members of Congress, and that is the repeal of sanctions on the for the nation of Syria. But there have been a number of members of Congress who have worked hard behind the scenes to try to build in a fail-safe to ensure that the new Syrian government complies with the terms that are laid out in this repeal language. So the question is, could this turn out to be a huge win for the people of Syria, in particular religious and ethnic minorities like Christians there in Syria? Well, joining me now to discuss this is Congressman Josh Perkin. He’s been taking the lead on this issue. He’s a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. as well as the Budget Committee and the Freedom Caucus. He represents the 2nd Congressional District of Oklahoma. Congressman Birkin, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to see you, my friend.
SPEAKER 22 :
Thank you, Jody. Glad to be with you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, look, before we discuss the NDAA, why don’t we start with, can you just share with us some about the situation that’s taking place there in Syria and what you’ve been hearing, what’s happening right now? Yeah.
SPEAKER 22 :
Look, there are things you get involved with that, you know, are a matter of positions, philosophy. Then there’s things you get involved with and, man, you’re just, you’re grieved in your spirit over. And myself, Marlon Stutzman, a number of members were meeting with Ambassador Huckabee in August because we were there in the region right after the 2,000 Christians in Druze were massacred in southern Sueda in Syria. And so we begin to, you know, begin discussions with the State Department, people within the White House. Of course, they very much engaged. And the great alarm over 700,000 people that are surrounded and under somewhat of a siege still. And to put that in context, that’s the size of each congressional district, as you well know, as a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. 700,000 people that have fled some rural areas in an area where an arid region and within city structures and the Druze, mainly, again, Christians involved with this, but the Druze, Jody, they go back to Jethro in the Bible. That’s where they trace their ancestry. And if you look at our judiciary setup where we have inferior court establishment of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, That can trace absolutely to Jethro in the Old Testament, his advice in Exodus 17, 18 to Moses that you can’t manage these people. You can’t judge them all. You need to disseminate. You need to delegate. You need to have lesser magistrates. Thus, in the Constitution, Article 1, it says inferior court establishment. He’s also the one, Great Scripture, Exodus 18, 21. In his advice to Moses, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain. You shall place them as leaders over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, over tens. So, so much biblical ties to this Druce ethnicity. the Christians that have been harmed. And so what the 131 members of Congress are saying by reminding the Syrian people that these conditions come with a watchful eye of the American people is that we really care about religious liberty being adhered to in Syria if they are going to prosper.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes. So unpack for us then the NDAA and some of those conditions that you’re talking about. What are some of them?
SPEAKER 22 :
Yeah, so Senator Graham, and if I misspeak here, I’ll allow Senator Graham’s team to correct me, but he took the lead on putting what were known as snapback provisions and what these provisions spell out are certain conditions that need to be met and that the Syrian people are well aware that these are going to be monitored by the State Department. And the State Department is going to have some subjective range to decide if Syria is in compliance or out of compliance. And by members of Congress in this follow-up, signing on to this press release, 134 members of Congress are just ultimately reiterating we want not only OSTAR’s governance to understand that the mass murders have to be a thing of their past, but we’re reminding them that for those who are seeing what they believe is rogue individuals, rogue military entities, that they have responsibility in this. that there has to be a change of mindset for the American flow of monies, which a lifting of sanctions provides for that to continue.
SPEAKER 08 :
And so what is your hope? What is your prayer for the Republic of Syria and its people through all of this?
SPEAKER 22 :
Yeah, look, my initial concern, again, is for the 700,000 people. Again, 2,000 were massacred. And so with many people with claims of who were behind those atrocities, my great expectation is is in the months ahead, as they go through the winter, that the humanitarian aid that is being administered, that those individuals, not only for food but water, that they’re not going to be starved out in that region. And then, you know, as we get in, further down the road, that you won’t have any more incidents, whether they be rogue or otherwise, that the Syrian extremists have to take ownership in this. This can’t be just, well, Syria can’t control them. For the Syrian people to now take ownership and as a grassroots movement say, we’re done with extremist ideology because they all know the consequences of sanctions being put back on.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I want to thank you for taking the lead on this and not sitting back yourself and for getting your colleagues to jump on board with this, an extremely important issue that for many people goes under the radar, apart from people like you stepping up to the plate. So thank you, Congressman Jasper Keene, for joining me today. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
SPEAKER 22 :
Thank you, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, friends, after the break, we’ll have our biblical worldview conversation with Dr. David Claussen. So stay with us. We’ll be back in just a moment.
SPEAKER 14 :
Should a Christian support Israel? That question has become one of the most emotionally charged issues of our time, both in the world and within the church. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins offers a clear biblical and prophetic answer. In his latest book, He examines Israel’s past, present, and future through the lens of Scripture, revealing why support for Israel is not rooted in politics, partisanship, or cultural sentiment, but in the unchanging promises of God. Drawing from Genesis to Revelation, Tony Perkins demonstrates that the ultimate rationale for a Christian’s support for Israel is spiritual. Should a Christian Support Israel invites believers to see beyond headlines and ideologies, returning to the foundation of God’s Word to understand His heart for His chosen people and the blessings that flow when we stand with what He has established forever. Text the word Israel to 67742 for more information.
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SPEAKER 13 :
I really wanted to do policy work in Washington, D.C. And I saw Family Research Council as a Christian organization that had very conservative values, values that I supported and that I really wanted to do work on.
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This internship really helped clarify my career goals. I would love to go into higher education and help our culture think more critically about the issues that we’re active about. And so this internship has given me more clarity on how to pursue that goal.
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To come here and to really see my work matter and to see people value it and to value me and what I do and what I can bring to the table has been a great opportunity.
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This internship has definitely helped me grow spiritually. The fellowship and the discipleship here just sets FRC apart from any other place I’ve worked at before.
SPEAKER 20 :
To apply, visit frc.org slash internships.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good afternoon. I am Jody Heiss, your Friday host, and glad to have you joining us today. Before I get to our final segment, I’ve got a couple of real quick action items that I want to put out there to you. First of all, as we approach the new year, I want to encourage you to do everything you can to strengthen your biblical worldview as we enter into 2026. Probably the best way I know how to help you with that is to encourage you to join the FRC team and thousands of others for that matter for our Stand on the Word two-year chronological journey through the Bible. Really, it only takes about 10 or 15 minutes a day in the Word, and it can absolutely transform your life. And we want to encourage you to take the journey with us and to bring a friend along with you. Imagine what it could do, not only for yourself, but your friends, your family, and others. To get more details, check out frc.org slash Bible, or simply text the word Bible to 67742. Okay, the next thing I want to give to you before we bring on our next guest is, of course, next year is the 250th anniversary of our country. We’re all excited about that. But we here at FRC in particular, of course, one of the big things that we do is protect the principles that America was founded on. And you have an opportunity right now to double your impact in helping us accomplish that. as we enter into a new year. Now through the end of the year, now through December 31st, every gift that comes in FRC will be doubled thanks to a special challenge match that we have. And so you can have a double impact opportunity right now, and we encourage you to come online and help us. Again, let me give you a text. Simply text the word AMERICA to 67742. That’s America to 67742. Okay, as we’ve discussed today, there’s absolutely been no shortage in the news as we lead up to this Christmas holiday season. And although, thankfully, there has been some encouraging stories, there’s also been some stories that demonstrate that the culture of death has is still very much alive in many states. In fact, it’s advancing. And joining me now to discuss what’s been happening in the last week or so is the recently minted Dr. David Claussen. He’s the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview here at FRC. David, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always an honor to have you on for this segment.
SPEAKER 21 :
Great to be with you. Thanks so much for having me today and throughout the year, Jody. Really appreciate it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it’s hard to believe that we’re coming to the end of the year, but it’s always been a highlight for me every week to bring you on and just hit some of the highlights of the news from a biblical perspective. And again, I want to thank you for your expertise in that. You and I talk a lot about the culture of death. And of course, probably most people think of that as attacking the beginning of life, newborn babies. But what we’re seeing right now is that it attacks the end of life as well. Just this past week, we had two different states that either passed or committed to pass physician-assisted suicide. And I know you wrote a piece about this in the Washington Stand. But David, let’s start here. If you would just kind of bring us up to speed on what happened this past week.
SPEAKER 21 :
Absolutely, Jody. And so, you know, a pro-life ethic affirms that all human life has dignity and value from the moment of conception to natural death. And what’s happened just in the last seven days is, again, a frontal assault by the culture of death on the end of life. So just last week, J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, signed into law a physician-assisted suicide bill that will take effect next year. And just two days ago, Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, announced that she had come to an agreement with her state legislature that months ago actually had passed a physician assisted suicide bill. She said that she had been thinking about this for months. and announced that she had reached an agreement with the legislature. She’ll sign this into law in January. It would take effect six months later. And so within seven days, the fourth and sixth most populous states in our union are now on the side of death when it comes to physician-assisted suicide.
SPEAKER 08 :
It’s just stunning that we would even be coming to this. Any idea what kind of prompted this? We really haven’t heard a lot about assisted physician assisted suicide. Great. Wow. Has there been something happening in the background that you’re aware of that has brought this about in this week?
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, what’s really interesting, Jody, is the way Kathy Hochul actually announced her support was that she put in a very personal op-ed out in a local newspaper where she said that kind of what tipped her hand on this was that she is seeing things through the lens of bodily autonomy. and individual choice and so it’s really interesting Jody and in fact this is the logical outworking of the logic of bodily autonomy because if you’re really in favor of full and complete bodily autonomy this is actually where you logically are going to end up and so I think Kathy Hochul in a sense at her press conference and in that op-ed she put out Wednesday morning kind of tipped her hand where this was coming from as Kind of the far left has really solidified their opinion and their attack on abortion and the beginning of life. I think we’re going to see this more and more in the years to come. And we need to be prepared to talk about why, as Christians, this is problematic, why this is an assault on the image of God. But we clearly have our work cut out for us, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, we really do. You know, it’s interesting to me too that both of these governors, Hochul and Pritzker, both seem to go to great lengths to try to explain the supposed safeguards that are in these various pieces of legislation. It’s hard to imagine safeguards, really, when we’re talking about killing people. But why do you think that they are going to such lengths to draw attention to these so-called safeguards? And are you at all convinced that these safeguards will work?
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, Jody, first of all, you’re absolutely right. In her press conference and in the official press release, half the page is Kathy Hochul kind of making sure that people understand that there’s all these safeguards, that physician-assisted suicide in New York It’s only for those with a terminal diagnosis with six months left to live. And you have to have a mandatory five-day waiting period from when you are prescribed the drugs until when the drugs are actually dispensed. You have to undergo a mental health evaluation. There’s a provision that she agreed with the legislature that anyone that could financially benefit from you dying can’t be a witness. And there’s similar provisions in Illinois, too. There has to be Two doctors that agree on the terminal diagnosis. You have to provide written and verbal assent that you actually want to go through with this. And I think the reason, Jody, that these politicians are wanting to underline and underscore and emphasize all these safeguards is because we know that we’re playing God here. And it’s so interesting is we know physician-assisted suicide is rafted. for opportunities of coercion, for exploitation, and just, I think they’re trying to get ahead of this by making sure all these so-called safeguards are in place. But Jody, wherever this has been implemented, these safeguards do not hold you only have to look to the netherlands or belgium which is about 20 years ahead of us on this experimentation or just look north of the border with canada there is a trajectory here and this happens all the time these laws jody initially it’s only for those with a terminal diagnosis well then they will expand it to anyone kind of with physical suffering and then inevitably it They change and relax the requirements for psychiatric or mental sufferings included. And then they’ll eventually lower the age from adults to minor children with parental consent. And then now the Netherlands is even saying that children don’t need parental consent. And so it’s a slippery slope that these laws always are expanded. They’re always broadened. And the folks who hurt the most are our most vulnerable.
SPEAKER 08 :
I can exactly see what you’re talking about there, how that slippery slope begins and where it ends with just a wide open door. You mentioned a while ago this whole topic of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. It doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it is an issue that is crucially important to Christians to understand. And you mentioned that as Christians, we need to understand this and get a grip on it. Can you… Just begin walking us down that path of how we as Christians need to be looking at this.
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, Jody, Christian ethicists have actually reflected on this for quite a long time. And I think most fundamentally we need to be the people that say there really are some things that are objectively right and there are some things that are objectively wrong. And it is always wrong to murder, even if that is wrong. self-imposed, if it’s self-murder, it’s always wrong. This is a tenet of the Christian worldview that is absolutely non-negotiable. And of course, my heart goes out to people who are suffering and who are in terrible pain. But God is the author of life. God has the authority over life. Again, this is fundamental to what it means to have a Christian pro-life ethic. I think it’s also important to say that when you go down this road of physician-assisted suicide, it fundamentally changes the relationship with medicine, the relationship between patient and doctor. You know, when you go down the road of physician-assisted suicide, like I said earlier, the exploitation, the coercion. Of course, no one wants to be a burden on their family. But again, you’re just fundamentally changing that relationship between patient and doctor. the Hippocratic Oath, that they preserve life, they extend life, they provide healing. But you change the entire moral foundation of medicine when doctors become agents of death. And I think that’s what the Christian worldview affirms. And then I would just say also, Jody, physician-assisted suicide, it preys on fear and isolation and despair. Again, as Christians, we are not ever permitted to eliminate suffering by eliminating the sufferer. And I think that’s something we’re going to have to continue to catechize and disciple our people as these issues continue to come up.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well said. Let me shift gears with you, if I can, David, in the last few minutes that we have here. I wanted to ask you about what happened yesterday at the Department of Health and Human Services. The department announced a series of proposed regulatory actions, all in response to President Trump’s executive order to end gender mutilation of minors. And by the way, this never ceases to amaze me how the left calls this gender affirming care. But I wanted to put this your way and ask if you can kind of summarize for us what the proposed actions are.
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, Jody, it’s important for us, again, to call balls and strikes. And last week on the program, we criticized the forthcoming step to reclassify marijuana. And I still think that that was a mistake. But credit to our credit is due. And the press conference at HHS yesterday, again, it was all of our top health, public health and medical officials saying, and acting at the directive of President Trump. So again, President Trump deserves all the credit in the world right here for what Bobby Kennedy and the others are doing. In short, they announced six regulatory actions that will have to go through a period of waiting. But once these are in place, Jody, these actions will end the medical gender transition for minors. And this is in keeping with the president’s executive order. I think probably most important, this got a lot of headlines in major media, is that hospitals cannot perform these procedures on minors, Jody, if they want to remain in Medicaid and Medicare, which, of course, that covers almost every hospital and hospital system in the entire country. And so what this would mean is it would functionally prohibit all of these hospitals from providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or any of these surgeries. I’ll mention two other things, Jody, that I think are really important. Bobby Kennedy, he signed… a standard of care that says that puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, any of these surgeries, they fail to meet professionally recognized standards of care. Again, just very clear language there. By the way, this would allow HHS to deem any hospital that goes against this, they could deem them being non-compliant. And I think that’s important. And also the FDA is going to issue warnings to companies that are illegally marketing breast binders to minors. So these breast binders, they’re for those who unfortunately have to, because of breast cancer, get mastectomies. Well, they’ve been marketed towards those gender-confused children who’ve had these surgeries, and the FDA has now put out a warning to these companies that this is an impermissible use of these binders. So again, very clear, something that should be commended.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, it’s just common sense too. One of the things that stood out were some of the comments made at the press conference yesterday. I wanted to play a quick clip for you and get your response to this. This is HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill. Let’s play clip one, please.
SPEAKER 19 :
Men are men. Men can never become women. Women are women. Women can never become men.
SPEAKER 08 :
Less than a minute, why is this such an important statement?
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, Jody, sometimes I wonder if my grandfather were alive today. He died in 2006, World War II veteran. If he heard a statement like that or even heard the President of the United States having to declare that there were two sexes, he would wonder what planet he was on. But it’s important for us, Jody, to reiterate these fundamental truths because for the last several years they have been confused. And when there’s so much moral confusion, when up is down and down is up, it’s important to reiterate. This is good theology. It’s good philosophy. It’s good biology. And it’s important, after what we went through for four years under the Biden administration, to reaffirm basic common sense. So again, hats off and credit to all those who were a part of this yesterday.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, absolutely. And I think not only our grandparents, our parents as well, and many of us living right now can’t imagine what planet some people are on. Thank you so much, Dr. David Claussen, Director of the Center for Biblical Worldview here at FRC. Always an honor to have you on the program, and Merry Christmas to you and your dear family. All right, friends, that’s all we have for today and for this week. Hope you have a fantastic weekend and be sure to join us next week here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 18 :
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