The Washington Stand’s Casey Harper reports on Iran’s new Supreme Leader’s first statement, an attack on a Michigan Synagogue, the Senate’s vote on DHS funding, and their efforts to expose destructive foreign influence on higher education in the
SPEAKER 07 :
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, Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 30 :
All I say to my Republican colleagues, stop the speeches that you care about TSA. Don’t talk the talk. Walk the walk. Let the legislation that we are proposing go forward without blocking it, and TSA will be back to work. Don’t talk to us about the need for safety and then block legislation that allows CISA to go through. That’s hypocrisy. Just let it go through.
SPEAKER 18 :
That was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier today on the Senate floor as the Democrats and in the way of funding for the Department of Homeland Security amid rising security threats. Welcome to this March 12th edition of Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins. Thanks so much for joining us. Well, coming up, an armed man crashes into a synagogue in Michigan and opened fire, raising new concerns about threats to the homeland amid rising tensions tied to the conflict in Iran. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Virginia Congressman Morgan Griffith joins us with a closer look. Plus, Louisiana State Senator Rick Edmonds joins us to discuss his new bill aimed at strengthening protections for houses of worship. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issues his first statement since replacing his slain father. He warned Iran would continue to attack U.S. bases and the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed. Joining us now is Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper. So, Casey, what’s the latest developments in the war with Iran?
SPEAKER 03 :
Sure. Thanks, Tony. Really, the one Iran has got two main focal points right now, the new supreme leader who you mentioned and the Strait of Hormuz. As for the supreme leader, remarks were read out by a state television presenter on his behalf today Interesting that he wasn’t on camera, but I guess you can’t blame him for being in hiding because every Iranian leader that pops their head off above the ground loses it. So that’s probably the future for him is being in hiding. But he vowed that the blood of the martyrs would be avenged, invoking very religious and vengeful language. Gives you an idea of where he is headed. On the other hand, the U.S. Central Command released video showing more damage and more strikes being done to Iranian targets, which includes aircraft. The president has touted the destruction of their navy. Now they’re finishing off the air force. But shipping is under attack in the region, and that’s the second focal point, the Strait of Hormuz. We have video showing an oil tanker engulfed in flames in the Iraqi waters after Iranian boat attacks. And at least 16 of the tankers and other vessels of the like have been attacked since the start of this conflict, with hundreds of other boats, Tony, saying, we’re not going in the Strait of Hormuz until it’s safe.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, I don’t know that Mr. Hominet realized there were term limits with that office when he took it. All right. This marks the fourth week of the partial government shutdown. And there, frankly, from what I can tell, there does not seem to be an end in sight as the Democrats earlier today blocked yet another bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. So where do things stand? Is there any daylight here where we might see the funding for Department of Homeland Security?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I mean, Tony, right now, if there is any daylight, I can’t see it. And it seems like no one on the Hill can. I mean, you’re right. Lawmakers have been at an impasse over what immigration enforcement reforms could look like for DHS, which is supposedly the key to reopening the government. But many are wondering and saying maybe the Democrats want to keep the government closed regardless. And that’s their agenda to shut down the Trump administration. Yesterday, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii said, we’re in negotiations, however, we are not close. So not a vote of confidence from the Democratic senator. Meanwhile, Republicans, on the other hand, are accusing Democrats of putting Americans at risk with their DHS closure and creating a lot of problems at the airports as chaos mounts there. And we also have the concerns over potential Iranian sleeper cells, so a lot of concerns with DHS. In fact, here’s Senate Majority Leader John Thune earlier today.
SPEAKER 11 :
Democrats have had multiple opportunities and we’ll have another one today to provide funding for all of the agencies that he just mentioned. The Democrats will have an opportunity to block as they have now repeatedly. A continuing resolution would fund all the agencies to which you just alluded and allow us more time to negotiate.
SPEAKER 03 :
The airport situation, Tony, is only going to get worse. TSA agents are on track to miss their first full paychecks. Hundreds of employees have left their jobs or just not showing up to work in this yet another DHS shutdown. And you travel more than I do, Tony, so best of luck next time you head to the airport.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, I was just thinking, Casey, as a guy who flies at least once a week, well, actually two or three times a week, not good news. All right, I want to go to this shooting at a synagogue in Michigan. Is this linked to what’s happening in the Middle East?
SPEAKER 03 :
I actually think we do have a lot of evidence it is. We have breaking news from media outlets reporting that the Michigan man who drove a vehicle through the front doors of this very large Temple Israel Reformed synagogue is actually a naturalized citizen from Lebanon. Of course, Lebanon is where Hezbollah is based out of, is shooting rockets. Israel is bombing Lebanon right now to take out terrorists. And so pretty interesting detail there. You can’t help but wonder if there’s a connection. I don’t want to jump to too many conclusions, but I’m just giving you the latest details we have. As for details of this incident, the suspect drove down a hallway and was confronted by security. And I think we actually have a clip of the sheriff here.
SPEAKER 29 :
A car came to the facility, reached the facility by driving into it. was engaged by security. We believe there is one individual deceased in the vehicle. We believe that individual is deceased. No kids, this is the important thing, no kids or no staff was injured whatsoever.
SPEAKER 03 :
So great news, of course, that no staff or children were injured there. Kind of an amazing miracle because we have reporting saying that there were actually a large number of explosives in the back of the suspect’s car, Tony.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, this is… Typical. I mean, this is now starting to hit the homeland. I think it definitely should put the pressure on funding homeland security. But it’s also a reminder that everyone has to be alert. This is not just a federal issue. It’s a state and local issue. Grateful for the sheriffs and the city police officers, but also the private security that’s required for many of these institutions. Casey, thanks so much. We’ll talk to you a little bit later in the program. Thanks, Tony. All right, I want to go back to this funding issue, the partial government shutdown of DHS, and discuss the latest developments with Virginia Congressman Morgan Griffith, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he chairs the Health Subcommittee. He’s also vice chairman of the House Rules Committee. He represents the 9th Congressional District of Virginia. Congressman Griffith, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 20 :
Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right. The Republicans want to pass a continuing resolution to fund DHS as the talks over ICE continue, but the Democrats refuse. Do not events like what we see today in Michigan create an understanding that this is not this is not political gamesmanship that we should be looking at, but it is national security?
SPEAKER 19 :
I couldn’t agree more, and it’s really very disappointing that the Democrats continue to block funding for DHS. I mean, we had it as a part of the package, and we sent it over from the House, and then the Senators balked. There were some things they didn’t like, and they don’t want to let the justice system work out that ICE was involved with or several officers were involved with, and so they’re going to block all the funding for all of DHS. It makes no sense. They, you know, they want to come in and piecemeal it. But the bottom line is, is that that is a single appropriations bill that needs to be passed. It’s the last of the ones that we need to get done. And they’re just willing to shut the government down and put our country at risk. And I hope that they don’t really understand it, but it’s hard to believe that they don’t know or really ought to know that they’re putting Americans in harm’s way by not funding DHS.
SPEAKER 18 :
Was this discussed this week? I know you were a part of the House Republicans’ annual policy retreat conference in Florida. Was this a topic of discussion?
SPEAKER 19 :
It was a part of the discussion. We talked about that. We talked about the Save America Act. We talked about the need in the Senate to figure out how to deal with what I call the modern filibuster rule. The old rule, as the president likes to say, and I’ve always said, like Jimmy Stewart did in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, was abandoned in the 1970s, and it wasn’t abused until the 90s, early 2000s. And now you can’t pass anything out of the Senate without 60 votes. And that’s not what the founding fathers or the second generation of our country’s leaders wanted. They specifically rejected Calhoun’s tyranny of the majority theory, which is akin to the modern filibuster rule. And I just think the Senate needs to reform the rules so that if you have a majority, you do what you want to do and you get it done. And the republic needs that. Now, I understand there are people out there who will say that the Democrats, if they get control, will do all kinds of crazy things. And they will. But then the voters get to judge those crazy things instead of letting them hide behind these secret holds that allow bills to go on forever.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, that may be true if you’re successful in getting the Save America Act through, because if not, we’ll continue to see elections being, well, frankly, less than honest. And Americans do not have confidence in the election system. That’s why twice the House has passed the Save America Act, only to go over in the Senate where it’s been sitting. This is common sense. And I’m sure, as you said, it was discussed. What is going to be the strategy to put pressure on the Senate to act on that?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, the president continues to talk about it. You know, there’s some Freedom Caucus ads out there about it. There are other members who are talking about it in their districts and on media outlets like yours because the Senate needs to act and they need to figure out a way to get that bill voted on. And they need to find a way to get the DHS bill across the finish line. If it needs to be 50-50 and let a few Republicans go and have J.D. Vance as vice president break the tie, fine. But let’s get some work done for the American people. And when you require a super majority in the Senate, you’re not getting a lot of these bills done. And that’s unfortunate.
SPEAKER 18 :
So folks, the Save America Act simply requires common sense in many states have already required this for state elections. A voter ID that you just have to show that in fact you are the person who is voting and it does some other things. Cleans up the voter rolls just to make sure that your vote counts. Weigh in on this. Text the word SAVE to 67742. Save, S-A-V-E, to 67742. That’s a petition that’s going to go to the Senate. Congressman Griffiths, speaking of elections, there’s plans and strategies that are unfolding there in Virginia, a special election there that could have a major impact on Congress. Tell us what’s at stake there in Virginia.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, Virginia had a constitutional amendment that passed with 65, 66% of the vote in 2020 that we were going to have bipartisan commission due to the districts. They did them. Now the Democrats in the Virginia legislature want to change that, and there’s a vote on April 21st, and they keep talking about fairness. People need to understand the fair maps are a no vote. And look, everybody can look at the maps. You look at what the Supreme Court did just a few years ago, and you look at what the Democrats did this year, and you can be the judge of whether or not which one’s fair, but I submit you’re going to find that what the Supreme Court did in a bipartisan fashion are the fair maps, and that means a no vote on April 21st, and we just ask everybody to get out and cast their ballot.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right. So let me be very clear. We’ve got a lot of listeners and viewers in Virginia. This is on the ballot in April. And the vote to to ensure that there’s fair elections is a no vote, no vote, a no vote. All right. We’ll make sure folks get out and vote and vote the right way. Congressman Griffith, always great to see you. Thanks so much for taking time to join us today. Thank you. Good to be with you. All right. So if you live in Virginia, be sure that you’re showing up to vote. In fact, there’s a lot of elections coming up. You can track this FRC action dot org. Get the the we’ve got voter guides. that are very important as we go into this primary season, but you need to be registered and you need to be voting, okay? And also the SAVE Act, which is related to making sure that our elections are, that have integrity. Text the word SAVE to 67742. All right, when we come back, we’re going to continue our conversation here on Washington Watch with Dr. Michael Rubin. So don’t go away.
SPEAKER 16 :
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. 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. 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 17 :
You see, America has freedom for a purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today?
SPEAKER 18 :
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 25 :
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 09 :
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 23 :
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 to humble, and we’re asking just now that you would help us, Lord. Amen.
SPEAKER 07 :
While our God is marching on. Glory, glory, glory.
SPEAKER 28 :
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 17 :
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 18 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. The website, TonyPerkins.com. All right. The conflict in the Middle East continues to intensify. Twelve days after the U.S. launched its strikes on Iran, Iran’s new supreme leader, Khomeini, Mr. Khamenei released a message stating that the Strait of Hormuz will remain shut to put pressure on, quote, the enemy, vowing that Iran will avenge the blood of its martyrs. Given that the Strait of Hormuz supplies a fifth of the world’s oil, Iran, of course, is attempting to leverage global economic disruption to force the U.S. to end its military strikes. Joining us now to analyze the latest developments and to discuss what could be next in this conflict is Dr. Michael Rubin, director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum. He is also a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he specializes in Middle Eastern countries. Dr. Rubin, thanks so much for joining us. Great to see you. Welcome back.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, thanks for having me, Tony.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay, what do you make of the new Supreme Leader’s warning to the U.S. and his move to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed? Let me preface that by saying it was a statement that was read. We’ve not seen him. We don’t know his situation. What’s your take on the current situation?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, first of all, I’m really glad, Tony, that you made that explanation, because the fact of the matter is there has been no sight or photo or video of the new Supreme Leader, Mustafa Khamenei, since his wife was killed and his father was killed in the initial February 28th bombing. There’s a lot of belief out there among Iranians that he’s either severely injured or that he may even be dead, and this is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps behind the scenes trying to pretend that everything is normal. But putting that aside, yes, the Iranians are going back to their standard playbook from the 1980s that Ronald Reagan dealt with, which is mining the Strait of Hormuz. The problem with this is they’re not going to be able to do it for long. And the Iranians aren’t the only one. While Iran’s neighbors, the Arab Gulf states, our allies, can’t temporarily export a lot of their oil, the Iranians need to import gasoline, and they can’t do that either. So there really is a ticking clock on Iran’s capabilities right now.
SPEAKER 18 :
Dr. Rubin, let me ask you if this is a correct view of this. I mean, this is what has long kept, I think, most administrations from going too far, really trying to contain Iran. It was this threat of cutting off oil through the Strait of Hormuz. And I mean, I… The can had been kicked as far as it could be kicked down the road. I think it was time for someone to act, and I think Donald Trump acted based upon the information he had. Short-term pain, but I think long-term, the world’s going to be a better place.
SPEAKER 04 :
I absolutely agree with you. Look, if a campfire starts to burn out of control, you want to put it out right away. You don’t want to wait until it consumes the entire forest. But that is what we’ve done over the last several decades. The fact of the matter is, if we want to break down this problem, the Iranians are mining the Strait of Hormuz. To mine the Strait of Hormuz, just like in the 1980s, they have to launch small speedboats or medium-sized boats. Those boats have a limited range. They come from a very small number of ports. The question then becomes, can the United States simply sink these speedboats and these medium-sized frigates or shut down the ports from which they’re operating. I think that’s what you’re going to see in the next few days. And the panic we now have in the public discourse with regard to gas prices is going to look foolish. It’s not going to age well.
SPEAKER 18 :
I would agree with you. I think there might be short-term pain, but the long-term benefit here is a stabilized Middle East. In fact, I think our last conversation was about how Israel and Iran could become two pillars of stabilization in the Middle East if this plays out correctly. But what’s that timeline? What do you see in terms of this expanding beyond just a few weeks?
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, I think we’re only looking at a maximum of a couple weeks. Donald Trump, for better or for worse, is likely to say that he has achieved his aims of ending Iran’s nuclear program and also setting back its ballistic missile program. He may not change the regime. In a situation like that, you’re going to have… An atmosphere sort of like what Israel had with regard to Hamas in the Gaza Strip before October 2023, where every few years, as Iran in this case builds capabilities, there might be some sort of military action to degrade them. The other option is simply to get rid of the regime. And the fact of the matter is, despite people saying through leaks and so forth that the regime has staying power, increasingly it looks like it may not. One thing which happened today which is extremely significant is that the Israelis using drones started taking out very precisely paramilitary checkpoints in the streets of Tehran. The paramilitaries were doing this to create traffic, thinking this would immunize them. But in effect, the very people who were trying to repress the Iranian people are ending up dead while the Iranian people are not. So I would expect to see some sort of new protest movement by the time that you have the Persian New Year on March 21st.
SPEAKER 18 :
Dr. Rubin, are you concerned that with this pressure, and we’re seeing domestic pressure, I mean, we’ve got the stock market that’s a little bit wobbly, you’ve got gas prices, although not as high as they were in the summer of 2022. And you’ve got even some Republicans concerned about the impact that this might have on the midterm elections. Are you concerned that that pressure could cause the president to prematurely, to use a phrase from before, mission accomplished before the problem is actually resolved?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I am concerned because we’ve seen the show before with regard to Operation Rough Rider, which was President Donald Trump’s campaign against the Houthis. I was in Yemen this summer with the anti-Houthi forces, and what they were saying is they had no forewarning before Trump’s Truth Social post that he was going to pull the plug and declare victory. That’s what many people in the region are worried about. That said, I think that Iranians have made a very bad mistake by attacking so many other countries, which now want the United States to finish the job.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right. Final word. We got 30 seconds left. Your message to the president.
SPEAKER 04 :
The message to the president is a little investment now is going to save lives later. This is what the president’s legacy is going to rest on. He can be the person that brought not only freedom to Venezuela, but to Iran as well.
SPEAKER 18 :
I would agree. I commend the president for his statesmanship leadership in this situation, ignoring the polls and doing what is in the best interest of America and our allies, particularly Israel. Dr. Rubin, great to see you, as always. Thank you so much for taking time to join us today. Thank you. All right, when we return, something we’ve been tracking for a number of years now, an increase in hostility toward churches. States are now stepping forward to address the issue. We’ll talk about it next.
SPEAKER 27 :
I think all people really need to have this type of education.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I can tell you that it’s been an amazing course, period.
SPEAKER 20 :
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 21 :
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 06 :
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 13 :
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 26 :
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 01 :
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 20 :
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 21 :
View the course at frc.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
SPEAKER 18 :
This is Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, and it sure is good to have you along. The website, TonyPerkins.com. If you’ve not yet downloaded the Stand Firm app, I would encourage you to do so, because at the Stand Firm app, you go to the app store, look up Stand Firm. You’ll have access to Washington Watch, but not only Washington Watch. You’ll have access to our news and commentary from a biblical perspective. We don’t hide it. We’re coming at you with a biblical perspective of news and events, the Washington Stand, and of course, my daily devotional, Stand on the Word. All of that, plus a lot more, can be found on the Stand Firm app. So go to the app store and make your smartphone a little smarter. All right, in December of 2022, the Family Research Council published its first Hostility Against Churches report. In the years since, FRC has continued to track hostility toward churches from acts of violence, such as shootings, to vandalism and other disruptions. While last year showed a leveling off after several years of steady increases, the number of incidents remains at a very elevated level. And by the way, You can obtain a free copy of that report. Simply text the word CHURCH to 67742. That’s CHURCH to 67742 to look at it for yourself. Now, we have repeatedly called for stronger federal action against those responsible, and that action has finally begun to emerge following the disruption of a church service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, when anti-ICE protesters stormed the sanctuary and interrupted the service led by Don Lemon. But recognizing this growing threat, state lawmakers are also stepping in to protect houses of worship. Last month, Alabama lawmakers introduced House Bill 363 in response to the incident in Minnesota. And earlier this week, Senate Bill 306 was introduced in my home state of Louisiana and the Louisiana Senate. The author of that bill is a good friend of mine, Louisiana State Senator Rick Edmonds, who joins us now. Senator Edmonds, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 10 :
Good afternoon, Tony. Great to talk to you always. I enjoy your program, but, you know, I enjoy your friendship more than that. So thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 18 :
We go way, way back to when you were the pastor of the House Speaker Mike Johnson.
SPEAKER 10 :
I know. I was blessed and still blessed. I tell Mike every time I see him, I said, you have to call me pastor. I won’t let him call me anything else.
SPEAKER 18 :
So let’s talk about your bill. And I should preface that. You have served as pastor, still serving as a pastor. You’ve introduced this bill. Tell us about the bill, what it does and why you introduced it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, you know, Tony, there’s nothing better than being in church on Sunday and, of course, during the week as well. But when you have such a harmonious and such great fellowship, what really is mind-boggling is that some people would use the church as a way for – some type of political advantage. And that’s happening now. And of course, you just referenced what happened in Minnesota. And we just can’t let that happen in our churches. Our churches were built for a place to worship the Lord, to be able to sing praises, read the word, have fellowship, but not to have some type of obstruction happen. So we’re offering a bill to make certain in Louisiana that that’s not going to go forward. Hopefully it will lead the way in America as well.
SPEAKER 18 :
So how’s their response been so far?
SPEAKER 10 :
Excellent. I mean, the only thing I can say is maybe a couple of folks, you know, they look up and say, well, is it a problem in Louisiana? And my answer would be no, we don’t necessarily have that problem today. But I mean, why in the world would we as legislators or leaders, why do we wait for something to happen? And we always have to be in the reactionary mode. It just seems to me leadership ought to be out in front of issues. And that’s exactly where we are with this particular bill, this instrument in the Louisiana legislature, I believe we’ll find a an easy pathway with a great signature by the governor.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, I could not agree more. I mean, we don’t want to wait till the problem is upon us to figure out how to protect ourselves from it. Now, some may be wondering why this bill is necessary when there’s the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which was passed back in the 90s, a federal legislation, one we’ve been calling upon the federal government to use in these incidents because it was amended at the very last minute by the late Orrin Hatch to protect places of worship in addition to the abortion clinics that the Biden administration used it so well to protect. But the problem with that is that the federal government, up until just recently, has not been using it to protect places of worship.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, and I think what we did, Tony, is we went very specific. And just a couple of lines. I mean, for example, usually when we find people that are anti-legislation, they want specifics. And so we gave them specifics. And we stated obstruction of the freedom of worship in a church or other place of worship is— And then what we did is we said no person shall obstruct or interfere with the freedom of worship in a church or place of worship using force or threat of force or physical obstruction or intentional injury or attempted intentional injury or intimidation. I mean, I’m going to stop there, but just to give you an idea, we made certain that in a court of law, if it gets there, that we were very specific to say these kinds of, or this kind of behavior is just not acceptable. And sometimes they say it’s well too, it’s way too broad. Well, you know, we gave these specifics and, you know, it was brought up to me. It was kind of like, since there was a journalist, Lemon was brought up about, Well, what if a journalist is covering a story? Well, I can tell you, you know, you and I have dealt with journalists in churches for decades, and we haven’t had people that struck the worship service just because they’re there with a camera or they want to ask a few questions. I thought it was a bit ridiculous.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, dealing with the media, that’s self-explanatory. Ridiculous. Senator Edmonds, I want to thank you for joining us. Very quickly, 30 seconds. What other big items should we be looking for with the beginning of the session in Louisiana?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I tell you what, we’re going to have the Ten Commandments. You know, we just had that happen where one in the court will be posting the Ten Commandments in every classroom. But we’re going to erect a monument in Louisiana out on our beautiful lawn that will demonstrate that the Ten Commandments are alive in Louisiana. And we’ll pass that on through education just a couple of weeks from now. And right on through, I think the governor will sign it as well. There’s several others, but I just thought that was something you might be interested in.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right, Senator Rick Edmonds, always great to see you, my friend. Thanks for joining us. Thanks, Tony. All right, folks, on the other side of the break, we’re going to break down some of the issues of the week, so don’t go away. 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 02 :
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 14 :
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 08 :
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 21 :
It’s harder to ship alcohol in this country than it is to ship the abortion pill, and that should never be the case.
SPEAKER 15 :
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 should require a doctor to be able to get access to this drug.
SPEAKER 05 :
As a doctor, I think it’s essential that there be human contact before the pill is prescribed.
SPEAKER 24 :
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 08 :
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 is now time to deal with this issue.
SPEAKER 14 :
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 02 :
Let your voice be heard. Text LIFE to 67742. Sign the petition. Tell the Trump administration to act.
SPEAKER 22 :
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 18 :
All right, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in and making us part of your day. All right, if you live in Louisiana, let me give you that bill that Senator Rick Edmonds was talking about, Senate Bill 306 that protects churches. You can weigh in with your state senator. Again, if you live in Louisiana, 225-342-2040 is the switchboard for the state Senate in Louisiana. 225-342-2040, that’s Senate Bill 306. And again, if you’d like to get the report… It’d be good to share with your legislators, no matter what state you’re in, get them to take similar action. You can text the word CHURCH to 67742 to get a copy of that report. Our word for today comes from Numbers chapter 2. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “‘Every one of the children of Israel shall camp by his own standard beside the emblems of his father’s house. They shall camp some distance from the tabernacle of meeting.'” All right, the camp was organized by family. Every family had its own banner, and the fathers’ houses had its emblems, recognizable symbols used to organize and rally the people. Their neighborhoods, if you will, were arranged by family. But look at what stood at the center of the community, the tabernacle. The tabernacle was at the heart of this massive camp of what’s estimated to be 2 million people. The tabernacle, the presence of God, was in the middle of the community, protected by the tribes and the families against any hostile forces. The family is to protect and preserve the presence of God. Kind of reminds me of the worship song, Jesus at the Center. Jesus at the center of it all. Jesus at the center of it all. From beginning to end, it will always be. It has always been you, Jesus. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742. Okay, the House has been out this week, as we’ve been talking about. Republicans were gathered for their annual policy retreat in Florida, but that does not mean there wasn’t a lot going on this week. There was, and here to help us sort through some of the significant issues of the week is our Washington Stand panel, Suzanne Bowdy, Editorial Director and Senior Writer for The Stand, and Casey Harper, Managing Editor for Broadcast. Suzanne, Casey, thanks for joining me today. Thanks, Tony. All right, I want to start with yesterday’s introduction of the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act. Senator Josh Hawley, at his press event, there were some powerful testimonies from women who used the abortion drug, Mifeprestone. Women are being harmed. Explain to us, Casey, what this bill does.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sure, Joni. So this bill from Josh Hawley, who’s been a great voice and ally on this issue, it has three things. One, it removes the FDA approval of mifepristone, which somehow we can talk more about how they still have that in the studies and everything regarding that. But it removes that approval. It makes it a crime to distribute the abortion pill. But it also does something interesting. It creates a private right of action for women who have been harmed by the pill, either physically, and there’s plenty of those, and also mentally and emotionally to sue, to file suit. So that’s going to be really interesting. We’re seeing that more and more. We saw how effective that was on the transgender issue. We’ve seen other private right of action things be effective in Texas on the life issue. So that could be really a breakthrough mechanism there.
SPEAKER 18 :
You know, sadly, Casey and Suzanne, the reason for the private right of action is when government won’t act. It allows private citizens to act to hold those who harm others accountable. Suzanne, you saw the press conference yesterday. What stood out to you?
SPEAKER 27 :
Honestly, Tony, it was such a sad event. I honestly challenge anyone to watch that press conference and not walk away completely outraged that this pill is still on the market. We heard, as you talked about, some really emotional testimonies from women who had not only taken the pill and had all of these adverse complications, but also women who’d been coerced or forced to take this abortion drug from their boyfriends or husbands, We heard of women whose lives hung in the balance because they took this drug and were never told about the side effects. They were never given the opportunity to make an informed choice about what they were doing in this instance. We heard from a former Planned Parenthood worker who said that, you know what, all these lies that these women are saying they were told, I memorized those lies and I told them to women for years. I falsified patient records. I told them there wasn’t a baby in the womb. I told them it would just be like taking a Tylenol and having severe cramps, and it wasn’t. Tony, it was absolutely appalling, the stories of these women. And then to hear the pro-life doctors saying and giving the statistics that, you know, here we are in a country where the FDA has actually taken drugs off the market for having 0.004% adverse complications rates. And this drug, Mifepristone, has 0.5%. That’s 125 times higher complication rate than drugs that have already been taken off the market. And yet we’re living under a pro-life administration with control of the House and Senate, and we must do something to stop it. It is unconscionable.
SPEAKER 18 :
You know, I believe it was last week, Missouri, one of several states that has sued the FDA over the abortion pill because it is coming into states without women having medical consultation, and it’s undermining the state laws. But the Department of Justice attorney arguing— for the courts to dismiss the lawsuit said that the FDA needs to be able to go forward with their review process and that needs to be completed before any action is taken. But Casey, from my conversations with senators who were in closed door meetings with the FDA commissioner, Marty McCary, this study hasn’t even begun.
SPEAKER 03 :
You’re absolutely right, Tony. I was just going to make that same point. So I found documentation from the FDA that was updated as current as of February of this year. And in that document they produced, they said that the review of mifepristone should normally take more than a year, but they’re going to try to get it done. in less than a year. But the Trump administration has been in office well over a year. And then as you mentioned, I mean, Senator Josh Hawley said on this very show just a few weeks ago that he met behind closed doors with the FDA, and he had no evidence that they had even begun it. And I don’t want to be conspiratorial in any way, but you can’t help but wonder if for political reasons the FDA career employees have no motivation to take this seriously and they’re Just not prioritizing it. I mean, you could very easily imagine some career bureaucrats making this take much longer than it needs to and trying to wait out the Trump administration.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, I tell you, I believe there’ll be political consequences for this when Americans find out pro-life voters find out that abortion rates in this country have actually gone up. And it’s all because of this abortion pill and the fact that a Biden era policy remains in place. Folks, you can weigh in on this text the word life to six, seven, seven, four, two. That’s life to six, seven, seven. All right. Another piece of legislation that’s been drawing attention. We actually talked about it earlier in the program is the Save America Act. Senator Majority Leader John Thune says he’ll bring it to the floor next week. But a lot of the talk has been centered around how Republicans can pass the bill by using the talking filibuster. I think there’s a lot of misinformation out there surrounding this. Suzanne, explain what the talking filibuster is and the possible consequences of using it.
SPEAKER 27 :
Well, I’m going to try to explain it without becoming a talking filibuster because it is a complicated process here. If I’m a Democrat right now and I hear Republicans and the president talking about invoking a talking filibuster, I’m thrilled because what this does is it hands the keys of the Senate and the schedule of the Senate to Chuck Schumer to grind the Senate to a halt for as long as he possibly could want. He could grind it to a halt until the midterm elections, frankly, because under these rules, Every senator, every Democratic senator in this case who would be opposing the SAVE Act could take a turn at the podium for two speeches. Those speeches could be an unlimited amount of time. It could be eight hours. It could be 26 hours, like Jimmy Stewart’s in Mr. Smith Comes to Washington. But regardless, they could literally control the microphone for as long as they wanted. And Republicans in this situation would also have to stay in town while this happens. Let me explain this. So while Democrats could take a turn at the podium, Republicans would have to stay in the city in case Senator Schumer decided to call a quorum or try to adjourn. They need 51 Republican senators to be present to stop that. Because if they aren’t, then this whole effort to pass the SAVE Act and to get past this hurdle of all these speeches would be over. We’re talking about a Senate that doesn’t even like to stay in session on Thursdays, let alone, you know, days and weeks while this takes place. And let’s say they get past all these speeches. The other problem is that then that opens up an entire amendment free for all. Under the talking filibuster, Democrats can offer as many amendments as they want. They don’t have to be germane to the SAVE Act, which is all about election integrity. They could bring up a vote, for instance, on the War Powers Resolution or the tariffs. They could bring up the Equality Act. They could bring up an abortion amendment. And to get past this hurdle, Republicans would have to have a vote on each amendment. And we’re looking at a Senate that’s very closely divided. There are moderate Republicans like, you know, a Lisa Murkowski or Susan Collins who could decide to join Democrats on something like extending the Obamacare subsidies. So this would open a Pandora’s box that would really take months. It would literally paralyze the Senate for as long as Chuck Schumer wants and pass who knows what on the Democrats’ agenda. It is a lose-lose, in my opinion, for John Thune. And I think, fortunately, he realizes that. But there’s a lot of misinformation flying around about the talking filibuster.
SPEAKER 18 :
I mean, he seems to be kind of the only one that gets it because those in the House are saying, oh, we need to do this. But as you pointed out, there could be amendments on the tariffs, which we’ve seen that the pressure is mounting upon Republicans who have actually gone along with this in some cases. So in the end, this bill could be about a lot more than just the SAVE Act.
SPEAKER 27 :
Right. What cost would it take to pass the SAVE Act? What would we have to give up or Republicans have to give up? What ground would they have to cede to Democrats on their agenda or in their policy to pass a SAVE Act? Would it be worth it to pass the SAVE Act and then Republicans lose the House and Senate and come back and Democrats can undo the SAVE Act. I mean, it really is just a very complicated, very nuanced. But at the end of the day, the founders created this situation to promote compromise. And it would be foolish to get rid of it either by a talking filibuster or just getting rid of the regular filibuster. They need to just work through their problems and find a compromise and not do away with the minority party’s ability to stall things. Yes, it’s terrible.
SPEAKER 18 :
or more Christians need to get registered and out voting. And so that we can cross that 60 vote threshold with conservative Republicans. Because I think we would regret the day that the legislative filibuster was done away with. Because although I will say from, well, let me period, let me break and say something else. I do think the Republicans for the first time in my time in Washington have shown boldness and strength in holding their positions. The House Speaker has held the Republicans together in a remarkable fashion, which we have not seen. The President is taking bold leadership. But that is not the norm. And I am concerned that the Democrats would take full advantage of the elimination of the filibuster. Republicans would not. What do you say, Casey?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think bold, strong leadership is a strength of President Trump and a hallmark of the best parts of the Republican era of leadership right now. But for President Trump, intricate nuances of Senate rules and policy is not maybe as much of expertise.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah. I think we have to be very, very careful when we change things that have been around for a long time. There’s usually a reason they’ve been there. All right. In our remaining few moments we’ve got together, I want to turn to one more development, and that is the news that Truist Bank is no longer participating in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index. Suzanne, this is something that you track very closely. Why is this significant?
SPEAKER 27 :
We’ve talked a lot on this show about the good news of the anti-woke revolution and how Fortune 500 companies are really just fleeing the LGBT activist agenda and not participating in the HRC’s index, as you say. But one thing we haven’t seen a lot of is banks. The financial institutions sector really has sort of largely stayed out. of this situation. They’ve not really rolled back as many of their policies as big name brands, you know, that we’ve been talking about here. So the fact that Truist Bank became sort of the first one to say, we’re no longer going to participate in this index is a big deal. Honestly, the Truist Bank has had a 100% score with HRC in basically five consecutive years leading up to this one. This took two years to accomplish, thanks to activists and other shareholder activists and others who’ve gone to Truist and and had these conversations and said, look, you need to back away from these policies and just stay neutral. Another thing that’s significant in this is that Truist also agreed to do away with some of its debanking policies. Now, I know conservatives and Christians are very familiar with this because they’ve often been the targets of debanking, where a bank will just cancel your accounts or freeze your assets because you’re conservative. And in this case, we’ve seen JP Morgan do that. We’ve seen Chase, Bank of America, all these others do that. In this instance, Truist has come back and said, look, we’re going to revise our policy. We are not going to punish people based on their political or religious views. And that’s a monumental step. Now, I will say we do need to see if they stick to it, trust but verify. Right. FRC has had some interesting interactions with Truist in the past. So I’m very interested to see if they can stick to this.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, I mean, I’m a skeptic when it comes to some of these because Truist, they tried to cancel us. We fought back, although we were moving on. I want to eventually go to where places are safe and people want your business. I think this is a good development. But as you pointed out, trust but verify. I’m hopeful. Well, I’m hopeful that this is not just a response to the cultural winds that have shifted under the Trump administration, but a return to basic business principles of why would you kick people out the door that want to do business with you? Maybe they have come to their senses. And I think part of it may be this whole transgender thing where the American people have awakened to this and said, you know what, this is nonsense. We’re not going to be doing this anymore. Casey, your thoughts?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I mean, I think many of these companies, I can’t speak specifically to this bank, but we’ve seen this pattern play out with others. Many of them are true believers, but I think others got bullied into this with things like ESG and very activist groups. Black Lives Matter was basically threatening people if they didn’t get donations. HRC is very aggressive. And so these boards and different people were bullied into this. And I’d say, though, even if they aren’t wholehearted in their conformity to the word of God, it seems a principle to me in the Old Testament that when righteous reformation happens, even those who hate God have to pretend obedience to him. And so that’s sort of a hallmark of increasing righteousness in a society. So I’ll take it. I’ll take what I can get.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right. Well, I’m just hopeful I might see that for sale sign out in front of HRC and SPLC. But we’ll see. Suzanne, Casey, thanks so much for joining me today.
SPEAKER 27 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right, folks, and thank you for joining us as well. Check out the website, TonyPerkins.com. Until next time, I leave you once again with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared, and when you’ve taken your stand. by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 07 :
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.
