In a gripping episode of Washington Watch, host Casey Harper dives deep into the ongoing Operation Epic Fury against Iran. Special correspondents and leading experts provide a detailed overview of the U.S. and Israel’s intensified military campaign, highlighting the larger geopolitical implications. As the conflict escalates, we also examine President Trump’s unwavering demand for Iran’s unconditional surrender and how this stance is rattling forces on Capitol Hill.
SPEAKER 14 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Casey Harper.
SPEAKER 13 :
When he, as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender. Whether they say it themselves or not, frankly, they don’t have a lot of people to say that for them because the United States and the state of Israel have completely wiped out more than 50 leaders of the former terrorist regime, including the supreme leader himself.
SPEAKER 12 :
That was White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt earlier today offering a clarification on the president’s call for Iran’s unconditional surrender. Welcome to this March 6th edition of Washington Watch. I’m Casey Harper, managing editor for broadcast at The Washington Stand. I’m honored to fill in today as your guest host. Coming up, we’ll discuss the impacts of the U.S. military operation against Iran, as epic fury heads into its second week. Ilan Berman of the American Foreign Policy Council will join us to discuss. And Asia expert Gordon Chang will also join today to share how the Middle East conflict is affecting China. And they’re paying very close attention to this, you can be sure. Plus, in domestic news, we’ll discuss a proposed constitutional amendment in Virginia that voters in the state are considering right now that could have a huge impact on Congress. That and more is straight ahead. President Donald Trump is taking a firm stance as the conflict with Iran continues to escalate. In a social media post today, the president said there’s not going to be any negotiations unless Iran agrees to what he called unconditional surrender. He also says the U.S. is quietly moving thousands of people out of parts of the Middle East as this fighting between the U.S., Israel, and Iran enters its seventh day. Joining me now is Washington Watch reporter Mary Stackhouse. Mary, what’s the latest on the fighting and the administration’s approach right now?
SPEAKER 28 :
Well, Casey, the U.S. and Israel’s military campaign against Iran has continued to intensify today. U.S. and Israeli forces are carrying out coordinated strikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure. And this is part of what the Pentagon is calling Operation Epic Fury, which began back on February 28th. Here’s what President Trump said about the operation.
SPEAKER 01 :
The United States military, together with the Wonderful Israeli partners continues to totally demolish the enemy far ahead of schedule and at levels that people have never seen before, actually. We’re destroying more of Iran’s missiles and drone capability every single hour, knocking them out like nobody thought was possible.
SPEAKER 28 :
Israeli warplanes launched another round of strikes earlier today, hitting targets in Tehran and other areas tied to Iran’s military operations. At the same time, the U.S. military says it struck an Iranian drone carrier that had been used to launch attacks against forces in the region. Video released by U.S. Central Command shows an Iranian ship burning after a strike, though Iran has not commented on it yet. The Trump administration says protecting Americans in the region remains a top priority. The State Department reports nearly 20,000 Americans have already returned to the U.S. since the operation began, and evacuation flights are still underway for others trying to leave. Among those evacuated are also 41 members of a South Carolina church who had been stranded in Israel due to Iranian counterstrikes. The group from Calvary Chapel Somerville arrived safely yesterday at JFK Airport after being forced to spend nearly an extra week abroad because of the airspace shutdown. Israel is also attacking pro-Iranian Hezbollah fighters in Beirut. Casey, back here in Washington, there’s also some debate on Capitol Hill about the growing conflict. A House vote aimed at limiting the president’s war powers narrowly failed, meaning that the administration can continue with the operation as it works with Israel and regional allies to push back against Iran’s attacks. Casey?
SPEAKER 12 :
Thanks, Mary, for that reporting. I want to ask you about another big story. President Trump yesterday fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Now that marked the first Senate-confirmed Cabinet change of his current term. Can you tell us about what led to Noem’s firing?
SPEAKER 28 :
Yes, thanks, Casey. So reports say that the final straw came during Secretary Christine Ohm’s testimony this week on Capitol Hill. Under questioning, she told lawmakers that President Donald Trump had signed off on $220 million in advertising tied to her department that also promoted her personally, something that reportedly angered the president. The testimony, along with growing criticism over her leadership, accelerated Trump’s decision to remove her and nominate U.S. Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of Oklahoma to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, a bill to fund DHS passed the House yesterday, as the partial government shutdown stretches into its third week. Republicans say the legislation is needed to strengthen national security during the ongoing conflict with Iran. But Democrats are expected to oppose it unless changes are made to immigration enforcement policies. Here’s what House Speaker Mike Johnson said after yesterday’s vote.
SPEAKER 24 :
The real big headline here is that every Democrat except four in the House just voted to keep the Department of Homeland Security unfunded. They do not want to fund the agencies whose job it is to keep Americans safe at this time of this heightened threat environment that we’re all living in. And you’re talking about FEMA because of the natural disasters and storms that we’re dealing with. You’re talking about Secret Service. You’re talking about the Coast Guard and, of course, TSA that keeps all of us moving through the airports. And so it really is rather stunning to us that they whipped a no vote on the funding of the department that keeps the homeland safe.
SPEAKER 28 :
In the meantime, about 50,000 TSA officers are still on the job, but receiving only partial paychecks as airport delays begin to grow. Casey.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right. Thanks, Mary. Appreciate that. Now, let’s turn back to the U.S. effort to deliver this crippling blow to the Iranian regime as Operation Epic Fury enters its seventh day. Joining us now to discuss is Ilan Berman. He’s the senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, and he’s an expert on regional security in the Middle East, previously consulting for the CIA and the Departments of State and Defense. Ilan, welcome back to Washington Watch. Oh, thank you, Casey. Sure. So what’s making all the headlines today seems to be President Trump’s statement in that bombshell True Social post where he said there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender. That phrase is getting a lot, a lot of print. He later clarified that could mean an announcement from the Iranian regime or simply when they can’t fight any longer. How do you see this playing out?
SPEAKER 05 :
No, no. Listen, I think that’s right. And if you look at what’s the trajectory of the war. So tomorrow, it’ll be a week since the start of Epic Fury. And what the president said in his speech on February 28th announcing the operation, I think still obtains. He made a signal to the Iranian people in which he said, that the U.S. is bombing and the U.S. in partnership with Israel was bombing, and this will go on for some time. And after that, the Iranian people will have an opportunity to take back their country. And that’s one potential pathway, certainly. Another potential pathway is for the regime to consolidate in diminished form and agree to what the United States wants, which is a durable, expanded, verifiable agreement that really eliminates the Iranian nuclear program and its ballistic missile program and winds down in support for regional terrorist proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas. Either pathway, I think, is possible. But the longer this conflict goes on, the more the prongs of the regime are being eroded by the U.S. and by Israel.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I mean, that’s really the goal. And I don’t think anyone but the Lord really knows which way it’s going to go. But one thing that’s been really interesting here is, you know, while we’ve seen the U.S. and Israel militaries hitting strategic sites with precision, Iran appears to be all over the map, even attacking neighbors that might have been somewhat friendly to them. What’s the extent of that? And what is really the response and the impact of that?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it’s a really interesting strategy. It’s certainly a risky strategy. This, I think, showcases the fact that the Iranian regime is existentially threatened. They understand that the regime is at the verge of collapse. And what they’ve been trying to do for days now has been to widen the conflict as a way of targeting countries like Kuwait and Oman and Saudi Arabia and having those countries turn around and put pressure on Washington to scale down the offensive. The only problem is that this is a double-edged sword. It has the opposite effect, and it’s having the opposite effect. Iran basically built the regime change coalition against itself that you now see coming together in the Gulf, because all of these neighboring states, I think, understand very well that if this regime is allowed to remain intact, it’s going to continue to be a very dangerous and predatory neighbor.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, when I see these reports, it feels like any teenager with a rocket launcher is shooting something off at this point. And maybe that’s the case. Maybe they’ve lost some measure of control. But it seems to me to prove that, wow, we could not let Iran have a nuclear weapon. We sort of knew this. But if there was any doubt in our minds that Iran would be dangerous to any neighbor, not just even the U.S. or Israel, but it’s just an existential threat to the world to have a nuclear weapon, this has to be proof positive, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
No, absolutely. And I think it’s necessary to understand that we’re seeing a lot of chaos. We’re seeing a lot of churn in the media. But there is a strategic plan that the U.S. and our partners in Israel are following. The first step is strategic surprise, killing the Supreme Leader, knocking out the military leadership. The second phase is eliminating Iran’s offensive capabilities. including ballistic missiles and its nuclear program. The third phase is eliminating Iran’s defensive capabilities and its defense industry so that Iran can’t rebuild those capabilities and become a threat again. And then the fourth phase is setting the conditions for regime collapse. We are well on our way, but this is what the president is thinking about when he’s talking about that this conflict is still in its early stages.
SPEAKER 12 :
Now, I want to ask you about Russia, because there’s reports claiming that Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence about the locations and movements of American ships, troops, even aircraft. What interest does Moscow have in this conflict?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it’s interesting because the broader frame here, and I think the way everybody should be thinking about this is that this isn’t an isolated front. It’s not just Iran in the Middle East and China and Taiwan is often a different place and Russia and Ukraine is often a different place. These authoritarians have been in recent years increasingly interacting, working together, cooperating on military and economic and political issues as a way of trying to supplant the United States and undermine the US-led world order. And so what the president is doing Yes, he’s taking the fight to Iran, but in a broader sense, he’s also taking a fight to that axis. And that’s why you see the Russians, at least in limited fashion, contributing to Iran’s defense, because they understand that this is bad news for them if this conflict continues, if Iran really falls. At the same time, though, all politics are local. The Russians have their hands full with their own conflict. The Chinese have their hands full with their own political developments and their own designs on Taiwan. And so I think that cooperation is going to be limited. But make no mistake, these are being coordinated.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and I agree with the limitations there. And we’re going to talk with Gordon Chang more about China’s role in this, what this could mean for Taiwan here in a moment. But as we have about a minute left, I want to ask you really the million dollar question here. This power vacuum in Iran, President Trump says he wants to be involved in selecting Iran’s next leader. How do you see that leadership role getting filled?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it’s interesting, right, because the conventional wisdom is that it’s going to be a cleric from, you know, from the religious establishment that gets elected. The problem is that, you know, as the president pointed out, these leaders are getting bumped off in real time. So it’s possible that it is some sort of junior cleric, some consensus candidate, the way it was after the Ayatollah Khomeini’s death in 1989. Everybody forgets that the recently passed supreme leader was a consensus candidate, too. But it could also be something else. It could also be a military leader from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that decides that he wants to take matters into his own hands, and he’s willing to create some sort of compromise with the administration.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right. Well, thank you, Ilan Berman. I really appreciate your insight. Clearly an issue. We need a lot of prayer. Stick around. We’re going to dive into China and how they play in right after this.
SPEAKER 19 :
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.
SPEAKER 18 :
A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal
SPEAKER 19 :
That they’re endowed by their Creator. With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th birthday, America. May God bless America.
SPEAKER 20 :
You see, America has freedom for a purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today? See, the founders understood we as a nation would be accountable to God for what he had granted to us. They sought freedom for a purpose, and that freedom was given to us as a nation for that same purpose, to serve God, to honor him, and to live as a people under his authority.
SPEAKER 30 :
At the 2026 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance in Washington, D.C., members of Congress, state leaders, evangelical leaders, and intercessors from across the nation united as one voice in prayer.
SPEAKER 24 :
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this gathering. We do repent. And we ask for your continued favor and blessing over our nation, even when we don’t deserve it.
SPEAKER 22 :
I thank you that because of the shed blood and the glorious righteousness of your son, Jesus Christ, a sinner such as myself can boldly approach your throne. You said that you helped the humble, and we’re asking just now that you would help us, Lord.
SPEAKER 14 :
While our God is marching on.
SPEAKER 15 :
Glory, glory to the King.
SPEAKER 07 :
We pray that you humble us, help us to follow after you with all our hearts so that we can see righteousness exalted in this nation and this nation restored to you. We know that it’s not by our power, it’s not by our might, it’s by your spirit.
SPEAKER 20 :
Freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. We pray that we would return to that purpose. Amen.
SPEAKER 12 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Casey Harper, your guest host for today. We’re a week into the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran’s Islamic regime, and so far that conflict has spread. It’s directly impacted at least 14 countries across the Middle East and surrounding regions. Iran’s not making any friends lately. But there’s one country far from the action that’s also getting unsettled by the latest developments. That’s China. Joining us now to discuss this is Gordon Chang. He’s a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and author of Plan Red, China’s Project to Destroy America. You can follow him on X under the handle Gordon G. Chang. Gordon, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 29 :
Thank you so much, Casey.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. I’m glad we have you because you’re the perfect guy to talk to about this. We know that China has long been eyeing Taiwan. That’s no secret. And there’s no doubt that they’re very closely watching, in particular, the US military capabilities in Iran as that’s unfolding. What do you think that Beijing is thinking about right now?
SPEAKER 29 :
One thing, Beijing must be looking at our running down our stocks of ammunition. But I think they’re also, more importantly, looking at President Trump’s exertion of will. And that when the United States wants to do something, neither China nor Russia can stand in our way. And what we’re showing the world is that we are the world’s sole superpower. And China right now, I think, is a bit deterred. But one other thing, Casey. And that is that the Chinese military is just unprepared to launch hostilities by going after the main island of Taiwan. Xi Jinping’s purges have really decimated the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army. And at least for the moment, I don’t think the army is in any case is any place to be able to go after Taiwan. That’s not to say that they can’t stumble into war. China is perfectly capable of doing that. And the chances of that are actually are quite high. But I don’t see them launching an invasion as a matter of deliberate attack.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, you mentioned President Trump is really the defining feature of this conflict. But that sort of suggests that after President Trump is out of office, it resets the table now.
SPEAKER 29 :
It will reset the table, but I do think, though, that President Trump has set the tone for quite some time. Xi Jinping, up until last year, was just telling everybody that the United States was done and that the Chinese were able to push Trump around. And I think deterrence was failing. But President Trump changed that narrative overnight on January 3rd. He’s reinforced the message with his going after Iran. He’s pushing Cuba over the edge. He’s pushing the Chinese out of Panama and, of course, other places as well. So this reassertion of American power, I think, has gotten people in Beijing to start to rethink that narrative that they were in control of the world. And that’s a very good thing for us, because now I think we can deter the Chinese, and I think that will carry over after President Trump’s term as well.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, deterrence is everything. The best war is the one you don’t have to fight. The timing here is very interesting because President Trump said recently that Operation Epic Fury has about a four to five week projected window, which means it could wrap up before his scheduled trip to China at the end of the month. Of course, nothing is certain in war. Timelines can certainly move around. But how do you see the developments in the Middle East affecting that upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping?
SPEAKER 29 :
Before the attacks on Venezuela and Iran, I think the Chinese believed that they had most of the leverage going into it. They knew that the U.S. held the high cards, but they could see that President Trump wasn’t willing to use them. Now, I’m not exactly sure that Xi Jinping wants this summit to go forward because you have a President Trump who is triumphant. And I’m sure that they don’t want Trump going around Beijing at a time when the U.S. is reasserting power and the Chinese look a little bit weak. So, yes, Trump wants to go. But the question is whether the Chinese really want him there.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, can you explain to me and our audience a little bit of the nature of the relationship between China and Iran? We often hear the sort of language of an axis of evil type of language about them, but it’s unclear to me how direct is the support? How closely are they working together? It doesn’t seem like Iran’s getting a lot of help from China now.
SPEAKER 29 :
Well, certainly Iran’s not getting a lot of help from China, and that shows the weakness of China’s external position. But China has been directly behind the Iranian regime, turning it into a proxy. So, for instance, China last year took 87.2% of Iran’s exports of crude oil. We see the Chinese giving diplomatic support, propaganda support, weapons support. Iran doesn’t make semiconductors, for instance, and it’s getting its semiconductors either from Chinese factories or through Chinese intermediaries. And Iran’s nuclear weapons program is really a Chinese transplant. So China, you know, looks like it holds most of those cards and is using Iran for its own purposes.
SPEAKER 12 :
So, you know, we have sort of this proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, where both Russia and the Western powers are able to test out their latest weapons. We saw the development of drone technology really explode because of that conflict. And it’s generally agreed upon that Russia was proven weaker than many expected and that, you know, U.S. weapons performed well and the Ukrainian people were sort of paying the price. Is it fair to say we’re seeing a similar thing happen with – in Iran, as the geography and the weapons may be coming from China and Russia faring poorly against Western weapons? Or is that one-to-one comparison fair, or is it more complicated?
SPEAKER 29 :
In both Venezuela and Iran, we’re seeing China’s export versions, which are not as good as what they keep for themselves. But these export versions clearly are useless against the weapons of an advanced military, such as ours. So I think that the Chinese reputation has taken a hit. Remember, you know, in Venezuela, Chinese radars and integrated command systems somehow didn’t see more than 150 American aircraft either in or near Venezuelan airspace. In Iran, we took out the Chinese radars immediately. So they’re not a factor. And that really is an indication that the Chinese weapons really aren’t that good.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, let me ask you sort of an impossible question. Given everything that we’ve talked about, you know, I’ve sort of been convinced for a while now that China’s on the verge of invading Taiwan, maybe next year. Does what we’ve seen now change that timetable about 30 seconds?
SPEAKER 29 :
I think that this changes the timetable because it views the United States now with renewed respect. And as well, Xi Jinping is continuing his purges of the military, which makes the Chinese military even less capable of launching an invasion of the main island of Taiwan.
SPEAKER 12 :
It seems we’ve proven our weapon systems are pretty formidable and we’re getting a chance to try them out, though I guess we need to replenish these stockpiles if we’re going to be ready. Well, thank you, Gordon Chang, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute. I really appreciate you coming on.
SPEAKER 29 :
Well, I really appreciate it, Casey. So thank you and God bless.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. God bless. We need his blessing now more than ever. And you want to stick around because coming up, the state of Virginia has kicked off early voting for a special election that could have a major impact on Congress. We’ll discuss right after this.
SPEAKER 18 :
I think all people really need to have this type of education.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I can tell you that it’s been an amazing course, period.
SPEAKER 10 :
I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we’re doing with our families and with our work.
SPEAKER 17 :
God and Government is a video-driven, Bible-based training course from Family Research Council that explores the connection between biblical principles and American government. In this six-session video series, FRC President Tony Perkins equips participants with a practical understanding of civil government from a biblical worldview.
SPEAKER 04 :
I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would have took it earlier that I could have taught my kids this.
SPEAKER 02 :
I wish I had known these things when we were homeschooling because I think children and my adults now would just greatly be influenced by that information.
SPEAKER 09 :
So I’m an attorney, and for me, it gives me some direct practical knowledge of what I can do to try to impact my legal community, to make better legislation, to try to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.
SPEAKER 06 :
Any pastor would benefit from taking this course because we are dual citizens, right? We are citizens of the kingdom of God, but we’re also citizens of this great land, and that comes with responsibility.
SPEAKER 10 :
Even as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for a while, you’re learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it’s also approachable enough that newer people, younger people, high school, college students, they can really glean something from this. I would encourage everybody to take this course, whether it’s the videos, whether it’s doing it in person, bring your Bible study group through it, bring your homeschool group through it, and equip yourself for these challenging days ahead.
SPEAKER 17 :
View the course at frc.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
SPEAKER 12 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Casey Harper, your guest host for today. Early voting kicked off today, actually, in the state of Virginia for a special election that could have a huge impact on Congress. Through April 18th and on the day of the special election on April 21st, Virginia voters will weigh in on a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state legislature to radically redraw congressional maps. Now, if this passes, the amendment could potentially shift four Republican-held seats in Congress to Democratic seats. This means that the current 6-5, pretty even split, of the 11 House seats in Virginia would suddenly be 10-1 in favor of Democrats. What would the impact of this be? Well, joining us now to discuss is Matt Carpenter, director of FRC Action. Matt, thanks for joining us. Hey, thanks for having me, Casey. Great to be with you. Yeah, I’m glad you’re here because this seems pretty significant, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, this is significant. I think we’re in the final stage of this mid-decade redistricting war. We’ve already seen six states take up this redistricting before the apportionment in 2030. And it’s been tit for tat, but it seems like Virginia Democrats are inclined to put maybe a big A big win on the board for them going into the midterms.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I mean, this big indeed is not this is not a marginal improvement, but the people spearheading this say that this redistricting effort, Matt, it’s just going to restore fairness is what they say. That’s the quote. Restore fairness. I’ve seen the ads actually where I live in Virginia’s congressional representation. What’s the what’s the truth here?
SPEAKER 11 :
You know, I think you have to be a pretty hardened leftist to believe that, frankly. You know, the current redistricting situation in Virginia is done by a bipartisan redistricting committee not linked to the governor, not linked to the legislature. It’s split down the middle, 50-50, Democrat and Republican. And they have to adhere to certain, you know, limitations on what districts they can draw. They have to be continuous. They have to be compact. They have to respect local jurisdictions. And instead, I mean, and that sounds pretty fair, I think, to most people. And if you’re going to believe what the Virginia Democrats are saying is that it would actually be more fair for the Democratic majority and the Democratic governor to undercut that bipartisan redistricting commission and instead draw hyperpartisan gerrymandered districts across the state, turning a state, as you pointed out, that was six to five, currently six to five to ten to one. So for a state that went for Kamala Harris by just five points in 2024, We have 46% of the electorate is ostensibly Republican to end up with just 9% of the congressional delegation with one seat. That’s a pretty partisan result.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of remarkable. And I know it’s happening elsewhere. We’re going to talk about that in a moment. But I find it pretty interesting because the Democratic governor, newly elected, Abigail Spanberger, she had previously said she had no plans to redraw these lines if she won her election. I mean, during her campaign, she tried to sell herself to voters as really a moderate. But it doesn’t really seem like that’s how it’s playing out. There’s a third trimester abortion constitutional amendment. There’s this redistricting. There’s pretty aggressive gun laws and other things. But they’re arguing that this redistricting effort is temporary. I’ve seen that language a lot, even in the ads that I’m bombarded with. They’re saying it’s a temporary measure, and it’s only a response to what other states are trying to do. Are Americans being misled on this? I certainly think so.
SPEAKER 11 :
You know, the result of this is going to impact how Congress has shaped the majorities of Congress. How temporary is that going to be, that Congress is going to make decisions that will impact Americans for the next generation? So I think that is incredibly misleading for them to say that. And just as misleading, as you pointed out, of Abigail Spanberger, who’s only been governor for almost, I don’t even think, two months at this point, to campaign as a moderate and then to govern as a radical progressive. We seem to be having the Democratic Party playbook here. sort of nice, a nice and tidy representation of that run as a centrist, govern as an extreme leftist. So that’s something to keep an eye on for the midterms. Yeah, that’s a great point.
SPEAKER 12 :
And we really saw that with the former President Biden, who governed very far to the left, and we have a whole onslaught of LGBT issues and inflation and many other things as a result of that. But I want to ask you about the legal action on this because every time you read about one of these developments of redistricting, there’s an immediate court challenge, and then that’s got to work its way through, and there are various different states. So what can you tell us about where the courts have been on the redistricting issue?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, we just recently got a ruling out of the Virginia Supreme Court, which which put a block on the Tazewell Circuit, Tazewell County Circuit Court’s ruling that issued a temporary restraining order preventing the ballot initiative from going forward. The Virginia Supreme Court stepped in, allowing the ballot initiative to go forward. As you pointed out, early voting has started now. So people are voting on this right now. thanks to that action from the Virginia Supreme Court. It’s noteworthy that they have not ruled on the merits at this point. I’m not a lawyer, but the fact that they’ve allowed it to go forward to me suggests that the court is likely to rule with the Virginia Democrats once they look at it on its merits. But it remains to be seen. We can be praying. We can be hopeful. I will also note there was a recent poll out of Roanoke College based in southwestern Virginia, Roanoke, Virginia, which showed that the initiative is actually failing with voters. 52% of Virginians oppose this ballot measure, just 44% support it. So there’s a chance that it might not be the courts that have the final say that it’s actually voters. And that’s a poetic end, potentially, for this radical redistricting effort.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, that would be very interesting to see. We’ve got about 30 seconds here. I just want to ask you how it all shakes out, because I know they’ve tried things in California and Texas, both red and blue states. Which party wins out after all this is over?
SPEAKER 11 :
So up until this point, Casey, we’ve had six states engage in some kind of mid-decade redistricting. At this point, at this stage, Republicans have about a two-seat advantage in the redistricting, tit for tat. If the Democrats in Virginia succeed with this initiative, they will reverse those gains and give the Democrats a two-seat edge going into the midterms. We’ve got Florida and Maryland also waiting in the wings, potentially doing redistricting as well. All right. Thank you, Matt Carpenter. Very interesting. Stick around.
SPEAKER 20 :
We have state leaders that want to keep the deadly drugs out of their states. Maybe if these abortion pills were coming by boat, the administration would change its tactics. It’s time to respect the rights of the states, and it’s time to end death by mail.
SPEAKER 03 :
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, alongside Senator Lindsey Graham, led a press conference on Capitol Hill urging the Trump administration to end the Biden era policies that have allowed dangerous abortion drugs to be shipped across state lines. They were joined by state attorneys general, pro-life advocates and multiple Republican congressmen.
SPEAKER 16 :
There are more abortions today in the United States than when Roe versus Wade was the law of the land. And why is that? It’s because of the chemical abortion drug, mifeprestone. Nearly 70% of the abortions that are committed in the United States today are committed because of mifeprestone.
SPEAKER 27 :
The federal government is allowing a chemical abortion pill to be sent through the mail that wipes out every state unborn protection law in the land.
SPEAKER 17 :
It’s harder to ship alcohol in this country than it is to ship the abortion pill.
SPEAKER 21 :
And that should never be the case. This is a drug that takes the life of every child. So there is always a death that’s involved in this drug, but is also incredibly dangerous for the mom as well. We think that we should require a doctor to be able to get access to this drug.
SPEAKER 25 :
As a doctor, I think it’s essential that there be human contact before the pill is prescribed.
SPEAKER 26 :
It’s not about a national abortion ban. It’s about validating Dobbs and preventing other states from nullifying the legislative policy choices that have been made by our states and facilitating the illegal, unethical, and dangerous drug trafficking of abortion pills into our states without any medical oversight whatsoever.
SPEAKER 27 :
We can simply fix this if we have the courage to do it. So what are all of us telling the administration? You’ve been a great pro-life president, Mr. President. It’s now time to deal with this issue.
SPEAKER 16 :
We want to protect life, and we want to give voice to the American people and their right to protect life state by state, city by city, and yes, here in the United States Congress. That’s what this fight is about.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let your voice be heard. Text LIFE to 67742. Sign the petition. Tell the Trump administration to act.
SPEAKER 23 :
The Stand Firm app brings trusted Family Research Council resources together in one place. Stay informed with news articles from the Washington Stand, watch interviews from Washington Watch, explore courses produced by FRC, and find many other resources to equip you to engage culture and government from a biblical perspective. Download the Stand Firm app today by texting APP to 67742 or by searching for Stand Firm in your app store.
SPEAKER 12 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Casey Harper, your guest host for today. Thanks for tuning in. Before we go into this final segment, I want to encourage you to commit to praying as the US and Israel take decisive action against the radical Islamic Iranian regime. During this critical and really spiritually significant time in world history, we have to be interceding for the US, for our president and national leaders, for the men and women in the military, for the people of Iran, and for Israel and just the Middle East as a whole. If you want to join us in doing that, text IRAN to 67742. That’s 67742. You know, I’m reminded of in the scripture when Daniel was in a spiritual battle and he didn’t even know it. And what did it take to overcome the prince of Persia? Prayer and fasting. So let’s follow his example. Text IRAN to 67742. All right, throughout the week, we’ve covered many of the top stories that have made the headlines. And right now, we wanna revisit some of those news items in our weekly biblical worldview segment. This is where we take stories from the week, both big and small, and examine them through the lens of scripture to better understand what’s happening around us. Imagine that. Not many media outlets doing that these days. Well, joining us now for this is Dr. David Claussen. He’s the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at FRC. Dr. Claussen, thanks for joining me today and happy Friday. Happy Friday. Great to be with you, Casey. Absolutely. Well, we have a lot to discuss here. We’re going to do a deep dive on the biblical worldview of a man who’s in the center of the news. Earlier this week, Texas State Representative James Tallarico, he’s really come on the national stage as a Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas, but also as a sort of voice for Christianity, you might say, if you can call it that, on the left. So, David, a lot has been said about Tallarico, and particularly the way he presents himself as a seminarian and someone who seeks to apply his faith to politics, which is something we, of course, believe in. However, now that he’s a nominee and is getting this national attention, several video clips have surfaced that reveal Tallarico’s understanding of Christianity and the Bible is a lot different than what you might expect and definitely different from what you may have grown up with. In fact, in one clip, it appears that Tallarico denies some pretty basic fundamental biblical teachings, like the exclusivity of Christ. Let me play this clip for you, David, and I want to get your reaction. Here it is.
SPEAKER 15 :
I believe Christianity points to the truth. I also think other religions of love point to the same truth. I think of different religious traditions as different languages. So you and I could sit here and debate what to call this cup, and you could call it a cup in English, you’d call it something else in Spanish and French, but we are all talking about the same reality. i believe jesus christ reveals that reality to us but i also think that other traditions reveal that reality in their own ways with their own symbol structures and i’ve learned more about my tradition by learning more about buddhism and hinduism and islam and judaism and so i see these beautiful faith traditions as circling the same truth about the universe about the cosmos and that truth is inherently a mystery david enlighten us here please
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, Casey. So in 1923, J. Gresham Machen wrote his well-known book, Christianity and Liberalism. And in that book, he explained that theological liberalism is not just a different interpretation of Christianity, but it’s a different religion altogether. And I think what you just played and what we’re seeing from the state representative is literally straight from the playbook of theological liberalism. And I think it’s important to talk about this. James Tallarico, he’s affable, he’s friendly. He often talks about how he’s the grandson of a Baptist preacher, and certainly that probably gets some resonance down in Texas. But what you just played is a denial of of a fundamental doctrine in Christianity, which is the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. This is a central tenet of our faith, that God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Of course, we know that Christians are to treat people of all religions with respect, but this idea that all religions are equally true, we cannot embrace that idea, Casey, without actually abandoning the central claim of the gospel, which is the exclusivity of Jesus. Again, don’t take my word for it. Just look at what the Bible teaches. John 14, 6, Jesus told his disciples, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. And that’s the passage that Billy Graham asked to be etched on his tombstone. Acts chapter 4, verse 12 also says that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. And so just that last part of that clip, this idea, Casey, that the religions of the world are circling around the same truth about the cosmos and that truth is somehow a mystery, that is simply not true. As Christians, we believe a very specific truth claim, which is that God sent his son Jesus to the world to save sinners. This is Jesus whom every knee, we’re told in Philippians 2, will bow and WHAT YOU JUST HEARD IS NOT JUST A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION OF CHRISTIANITY, IT’S A DIFFERENT RELIGION ALL TOGETHER.
SPEAKER 12 :
YEAH, I THINK THAT’S RIGHT. NOW, THIS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, far-fetched theology has been around for a while. It’s not entirely new or unique to Mr. Tallarico, but the difference here is that he’s not just saying, these are my personal ideas. He’s claiming to speak for the Christian faith and even invoking the scripture and invoking, I mean, really saying you’re the son of a grandson of a Baptist is sort of appealing to a sort of authority. And When you compile all the things he does, he’s claiming to speak for the Christian faith, and I think that is what makes this so troubling. But he’s not just getting it wrong on the fundamentals. He’s applying this to politics, issues like abortion and homosexuality. I have another clip for you I want to play and get your reaction, David.
SPEAKER 15 :
Here it is. The Southern Baptist Convention was pro-choice until the late 1970s. So this idea that to be a Christian means you have to be anti-gay and anti-abortion, there really is no historical, theological, biblical basis for that opinion.
SPEAKER 12 :
David, I’ll throw this softball up to you again here.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it’s simply not true. There is no historical or biblical basis for the Orthodox Christian convictions on sexuality and the sanctity of life. We could go straight to the Scripture. Again, this is not an issue that we have to to kind of try to read between the lines. We have God’s revealed word. We have Psalm 139 that tells us God is actively at work in the development of every single human being. We have Jeremiah chapter one where it says God personally knew Jeremiah while he was in the womb. We have Luke chapter one, the story of the unborn John the Baptist leaping for joy when he’s in the presence of the unborn Jesus. We know, Casey, that in the first century, Christians opposed abortion in the Roman world. This is reflected in the earliest moral instruction manuals that Christians put together that think about the Didache or the Epistle of Barnabas. And on the issue of sexual ethics, again, we don’t have to guess what God’s opinion is. From Genesis chapter 2 to Matthew 19, where Jesus TALKS ABOUT THE ISSUE OF MARRIAGE. THE BIBLE CLEARLY REVEALS ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN FOR LIFE IS GOD’S DESIGN. THIS IS A CREATION ORDINANCE. AND IT’S INTERESTING. I WANT TO MENTION HE STARTED THAT CLIP BY INVOCING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. AND IT, OF COURSE, IS TRUE. starting in 1979 with the election of Adrian Rogers as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC went through a major theological course correction. But that was not some political takeover. That was the denomination, a grassroots movement, realizing that the entities of the SBC had been lost to theological liberalism. And that was a return to the authority of Scripture. And the position, by the way, that the Christian church had been teaching for 2,000 years. And so what you played in that clip, I believe the context of that was his interview with Rogan. But that, again, is a completely revisionist understanding of what the church has historically taught on the life issue as well as sexual ethics.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, it was with Joe Rogan and the previous one is New York Times. And I think that’s what’s more troubling about this is because he’s going on major media platforms claiming to speak for the faith when, I mean, just a cursory, you know, reading through scripture at a seventh grade Sunday school student could debunk a lot of the things he’s saying. And I actually had our research team here do some digging on Mr. Tallarico and his church just to find out more about this guy. I’m going to read you some things we found. The website for his home church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, they have pictures on their website, a lot of different symbols, colors of the pride flag hanging on it, as well as a video that says, Love thy neighbor, no exceptions, which has various symbols, including not just the pride and trans flag, which you might expect, but also the Islamic star and crescent. lesbian minister. You know, there’s a lot of things going on there, and they support groups like Out Youth, which affects, works to affirm Texas youth who identify as LGBTQ in the community and support more light Presbyterians whose goal is to get LGBTQ individuals in positions of church leadership. He says God is not non-binary. I think we have put forward a pretty compelling list of evidence here to give you an idea exactly who we’re dealing with here. But I do want—if you can suffer through one more clip, David, we’re going to play—this one is of when he gave a speech. I don’t know if you can call it a sermon, but he gave a speech in a church where he actually defended abortion for those who identify as transgender. Let’s play the clip.
SPEAKER 15 :
DAVID WALLACE- Before we go further, I want to acknowledge that our trans community needs abortion care, too. Defending trans Texas is something we have to do every day at the state capitol. And you better believe I’ll be giving sermons on that too. David, are you looking forward to those sermons?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I’m sure looking forward to those sermons, Casey. I think it’s important to note that that church and the seminary that he graduated from is associated with the Presbyterian Church USA. Again, this is a mainline theological liberal denomination that actually back in the 20s and 30s was one of the first denominations to begin to jettison core Christian beliefs, things like the virgin birth, a literal resurrection, the miracles of Jesus. This is a denomination that over a decade ago switched their position on human sexuality and marriage. And so, again, this is kind of the core of mainline theological liberalism. And, Casey, the clip that you just played, talk about kind of an intersectional denomination coming together of liberal positions on the transgender issue and the abortion issue. Again, this is an affirmation of two whole belief systems that undermine the human body, denying the rights of the unborn, but then in a whole cloth embracing transgender ideology, of course, which is a fundamental denial that our body can tell us anything of value to ourselves. And again, Christian theology, from the first pages of Genesis tells us that we are made male and female in God’s image. And so to embrace transgender ideology also entails completely rejecting an entire anthropology that we understand God put into the created order all the way going back to Genesis 1 and 2.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, David, you’re making great points here. And I think what we see here is that it’s not enough to call yourself Christian or call yourself a Christian organization. You have to be tethered to the Bible, tethered to Scripture, because if you’re not limited and grounded by the Scripture, It’s a new doctrine every decade, and you never know where you end up. You might have an Islamic crescent on your church. I want to switch gears. I think we’ve made our point here, and I want to get your take on this. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court barred California from enforcing this very peculiar state law that really muzzled schools from notifying parents if their child changed their pronouns or their so-called gender expression. at school. So, you know, a kid comes to school and is pretending to be the opposite gender, wanting different pronouns. The teacher couldn’t tell the parents. Now, I know you followed this, David, and looked at the opinion and dug into it. What exactly did the court decide and what are the implications of this?
SPEAKER 08 :
IMPLICATIONS ARE QUITE PROFOUND RIGHT NOW BECAUSE CALIFORNIA, CASEY, IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE, BUT HAS HAD A LAW IN PLACE THAT ESSENTIALLY PREVENTS SCHOOLS FROM NOTIFYING PARENTS ABOUT THEIR MINOR CHILD’S GENDER IDENTITY CHANGES AT SCHOOL. AND WHAT THE JUSTICE, AS A MAJORITY OF THE JUSTICES SAID, IS THAT THIS LAW LIKELY CANNOT SURVIVE STRICT SCRUTINY. AND SO THE LAW HAS STAYED IN PLACE RIGHT NOW, CAN’T BE ENFORCED, WHILE THE LOWER COURTS, AS THE CASE WORKS ITS WAY THROUGH THE I THINK THAT SAYS IT REALLY WELL, CASEY. IT SAYS IT REALLY WELL, CASEY. And one of the things I appreciated about the Supreme Court and the opinion they put out is they acknowledge that there are longstanding precedents that honor parental rights. And, of course, this law significantly undermines parental rights. One other thing that the court noticed is that gender dysphoria actually has implications for children’s mental health. And I think we would affirm that. We would agree with that. But again, from a biblical worldview, we know Deuteronomy 6 and trust chief discipleship responsibilities to the parents, not the state. And the fact that this is being recognized right now by our highest court, that is a good thing.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, so many things that are common sense we’re having to explain. It’s kind of troubling, but I wanna get, this actually reminds me of another story that I wanna get your opinion on as we come to the end here. On Wednesday, an Indiana school district They agreed to pay, I think it was $650,000 to settle this lawsuit that a music teacher brought after he was forced to really resign for declining to refer to students using terms inconsistent with their biological sex, so the wrong pronouns. Now, he said, naturally, this violated his religious beliefs. Seems like we have another example of transgender ideology losing a big case. Am I reading that right?
SPEAKER 08 :
You’re reading it right, Casey. And what’s, I think, worth noting is the edifice of transgender ideology seems to be crumbling all around us, whether it’s major medical associations reversing their position on so-called gender-affirming care for minor children, whether it’s the president of the United States honoring a detransitioner of the State of the Union, whether it’s the first settlement that came out a couple of weeks ago for a detransitioner who sued her psychologist and doctor, and now this case, a settlement of $650,000 for a teacher who was wrongly terminated because he said his religious beliefs were in conflict with school policies that forced him to use improper names and pronouns. This is a welcome sign, and again, I think a sign that the transgender movement has overreached, and again, one that those of us who are grounded in reality ought to be celebrating.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thanks, David. I appreciate your take on all these things. You want to go visit Mr. Tallerego’s church with me next Sunday? Only if you’ll come with me, Casey. Yeah, I think we might get kicked out. I’m not sure. We might. Thanks so much, Dr. David Claussen, director of FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview. All right, folks. Well, that is all the time we have. Thanks for keeping up with us this time. There’s a lot of important issues. You have to tune in every night. And in the meantime, keep standing.
SPEAKER 14 :
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.
