In this episode of Washington Watch, host Jody Heiss unpacks the implications of the ongoing government shutdown and its real-world effects on Americans. With guests from various fields, the discussion delves into the complexities faced by legislators and administrators as they battle economic and political pressures at home and abroad. As the shutdown saga continues, we also hear about the international stage where pivotal trade negotiations are underway.
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
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It’s almost been a full month since the Democrats shut down the government. And as we near the end of this month, the pain being felt by so many hardworking people around this country is very real. And it gets worse with each passing day.
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That was House Speaker Mike Johnson warning Americans could face serious hardships if Democrats don’t act to reopen the government. Welcome to this October 27th edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host Jody Heiss filling in for Tony Perkins today. Thank you so much for tuning in. All right, coming up, President Trump is in Japan after signing trade deals with Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. But the big question is whether or not he’ll be able to reach a trade deal with China when he meets with President Xi later this week. Asia expert Gordon Chang will join us in a little while to break that down. Also, Congressman Keith Self will give us the latest on the impact of the government shutdown. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is going to decide which foreign troops can join an international peacekeeping force in Gaza. The U.S. will not be sending soldiers, but is asking countries like Indonesia the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and others to contribute. Well, joining me now from the Washington stand is Casey Harper. Casey, what is the latest on Israel’s position as it relates to foreign troops joining their mission in Gaza?
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Yeah, Jody, well, this has been a very contentious issue, as you might imagine. Who’s going to get to have troops in Israel’s backyard? Well, according to Israeli officials, forces from countries that are hostile to Israel will not be allowed. You might say that’s obvious, but it hasn’t been obvious up until this point. Now, Azerbaijan and Indonesia, they appear well-positioned to lead the new Gaza force after Israel went ahead and vetoed Turkey’s involvement, which is not a major surprise. But coordination on this is still in the early stages, and Indonesia is insisting that this whole operation actually get UN Security Council approval. That could be complicated. Now, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, while speaking today in Budapest, he said that Israel firmly rejects any Turkish involvement in the proposed international force.
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Turkey, led by Erdogan, led hostile approach against Israel, included not only hostile statements, but also diplomatic and economic measures against Israel. it is not reasonable for us to let their armed forces enter to Gaza Strip and we will not agree to that and we said it to our American friends.
SPEAKER 12 :
There’s no surprise there, as Turkey’s been no friend to Israel in recent years. But this U.S. plan, backed by President Trump, it calls for foreign troops to secure this fragile ceasefire that did end two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas earlier this month. Of course, tensions between Israel and Turkey remain high, as Turkey has sharply condemned Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. And you probably remember, Jody, that the Turkish president actually blocked Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu from coming to that international peace summit where the deal was signed.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, I do remember that. Casey, what about the president’s trip now to Asia? There’s a lot of attention on that. What’s the latest that you have in that measure?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, that’s right, Jody. All eyes are on the president as he’s in Asia. And he says he’s confident the U.S. will reach a strong deal with China. He says, hey, both sides want to make a deal and we’re going to get it done ahead of his meeting with Xi Jinping later this week.
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I think we’re going to have a deal with China. We meet, as you know, in South Korea with President Xi. I think we’re going to have a good deal with China. And they want to make a deal, and we want to make a deal.
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We’ll see if it happens. U.S. and Chinese officials have already agreed on a framework for talks, which take on issues like tariffs, rare earth minerals, fentanyl, and TikTok. But the truce in the trade war is set to expire November 10th, which means that new tariffs could kick in if progress stalls on that deal. Meanwhile, at a summit in Malaysia, Trump also signed several trade and mineral deals with Southeast Asian nations, and he got behind Malaysia’s mediation of that Thailand-Cambodia peace accord. The president’s calling it a golden age for America and the Pacific, Jody.
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Casey, there’s so much happening in this Asia trip right now, so much at stake. But one of the things that we’ve been following here is how China recently has been going after religious leaders, churches, raiding churches and pastors’ homes, some 30 or so pastors here recently. And of course, here at Family Research Council, we’re praying for all our persecuted brothers and sisters in the faith in China and around the world. But do you think President Trump is going to be addressing this with President Xi?
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You know, it’s one of those things that could come up. I think President Trump has shown himself to be someone who’s focused on the economics first and on peace first, and to put some of those other values second to that. He’s been willing to work with countries like Turkey and Qatar, which might have questionable things going on. He hasn’t blinked an eye at some of Russia’s issues as well. He wants to make a deal with everyone. And so I wouldn’t be surprised if it came up, but it doesn’t appear right now that that is front and center of the president’s trip, Jody.
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What about back home here? The government shutdown continues to be prime news all over the place, and we’re hearing some reports that everyday Americans could soon be facing some more hardships. We played a clip of House Speaker Johnson just a little earlier on that. What’s the latest on all this political deadlock?
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Yeah, that’s right, Jody. We’re on day 27 of this seemingly never-ending government shutdown, and the Senate Democrats, led, of course, by Chuck Schumer, are continuing to block that Republican measure that would simply reopen the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson, he’s taking them to task for that. He says Democrats are holding the government hostage and causing real harm for working Americans.
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Because just like they decided to save their own skin, that they had to endorse the Marxist mandami in an unprecedented move, They have also decided they had to shut down the government in an unprecedented move. No matter the pain it inflicts upon hardworking American people, they were simply more afraid of the Marxists in their party than they are of voters. For the sake of our country, we pray that their calculation is wrong.
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We believe it is dead wrong. The pain is only going to get worse, Jody. USDA is warning that food benefits for 41 million people will stop on November 1st if the shutdown continues. And in states like New Mexico, that could be as many as one in five residents who lose benefits. So Republicans are sticking by their message. They say, hey, the solution is clear. Pass our bill. End the shutdown. Put Americans first, Jody.
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Well, Casey, thank you so much for these updates. I know we’ll be talking to you a little bit later in the program, but thank you for joining us. All right, I want to continue the discussion on the government shutdown and get a congressional perspective in all of this. Joining me now to discuss this and more is Congressman Keith Self. He serves on several committees, including the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he faithfully served our country for over 25 years in the Army, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He represents the 3rd Congressional District of Texas. Congressman Self, always great to see you, my friend. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to be here with you, Jody.
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Thank you.
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All right, this government shutdown, now day 27, and we had the American Federation of Government Employees, which is the nation’s largest union of federal workers. They released a statement today basically calling on Congress to reopen the government immediately under a continuing resolution that is clean, exactly what the Republicans have been pushing for. And they noted that doing so does not favor one political side over the other. The Republicans have been saying this all along. What’s the latest that you’re hearing from your colleagues right now?
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Well, I think the Democrats are losing their base. When you lose the largest federal union, you’ve lost part of your base. And frankly, it did favor the Republicans because they want them to pass the clean CR that we have already passed in the House. That clearly is our position. The Democrats need to come on board. They need to stop this pain on the American people. And we need to get everybody back to work.
SPEAKER 11 :
Absolutely. I know we talked about this last Friday, too, but the Trump administration has took some steps to try to ensure that the SNAP benefits were paid this month. That’s the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as you well know. But that impacts like one out of every eight Americans when it comes to buying groceries. And now the administration is saying that the well is run dry so that there will be no SNAP benefits beginning this Saturday, November 1st. So how can the Democrats continue to claim that they’re trying to help Americans by hurting them? I mean, this is bizarre to me. Do you think that some of them, perhaps with the SNAP program going under, that maybe they’ll change their minds now?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I have no idea. But frankly, we need five Democrats to do the right thing, to look in their conscience and come over and vote for a clean CR. I have lots of questions about the SNAP program and the 41 million people. That’s 12% of our population. Why is 12% of our population on food stamps on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program? Why is that? Given the obesity and the In the nation, the most purchased item are carbonated beverages. Why is that? I question those numbers, although they’re USDA numbers. But we need to be looking for fraud, waste, and abuse in the SNAP program. And look, the best thing about this shutdown is it’s focused sunlight and attention on Obamacare, just what a disastrous program it is. Maybe we need the same sunlight on the SNAP program.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hey, listen, I could not agree with you more. I know I had the same issues when I was serving in Congress. I only brought it up because that’s kind of like a pet for the Democrats. They love the SNAP program. And with that well-running drive, I was just curious if you thought that that might be a turning point for them. But absolutely, SNAP needs to be investigated. I can’t fathom in my mind either why it has 41 million Americans on it. But if I can— Real quickly, some international issues for you. We’ve got the missing bodies, the hostages from Gaza that are still lingering out there, and now all the continuing steps for the potential continued ceasefire. But we’ve got… all the international peacekeeping force in Gaza. And of course, yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel is going to determine which foreign troops are acceptable in that force. What’s your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, absolutely. I mean, Gaza is their backyard. And I think the decision on Turkey was exactly right. I’m actually concerned that Turkey and Israel might have a little conflict of their own because Erdogan is very aggressive toward Israel today. So, yeah, I agree with Netanyahu. They should decide. But look, focus on Hamas, because will Hamas disarm? Will Hamas go into exile? Will Hamas meet the terms of the peace agreement? I doubt it. But focus on Hamas while we’re focusing on the troops that might be allowed in at some time.
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Less than a minute to go. Real quickly, the president is now on his Asian tour. What hopes do you have for that trip?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I have high hopes. Look, this is a tour de force of Donald Trump. He’s done exactly what he should have done before the meeting with Xi Jinping. He’s gone to the allies. He’s had a peace agreement. He’s had several trade agreements. He is showing Xi Jinping that he is very relevant in this part of the world. This is a tour de force. So all of that should play a part when he actually meets with Xi Jinping in South Korea. So I have high hopes because Xi Jinping is very, he’s almost like Donald Trump. He has to be, at this time, very transactional.
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Let’s hope they can transact business. We certainly hope so. Thank you so much, Congressman Keith Self of Texas. Always great to have you on the program. Thank you, Jody. All right, coming up, we’re going to go deeper into President Trump’s Asian tour and what we can expect from that. Expert Gordon Chang will be joining me right after the break, so stay with us. We’ll be back in just a moment.
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Our founding scripture for this is Ephesians 6, verse 13. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand therefore.
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Family Research Council’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit 2025 brought together Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action.
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We are equipping the body of Christ to understand that what is happening around us is not just political. It’s not just cultural. At its heart, it is spiritual.
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we gather in a nation that has torn the foundation apart, and we have separated our governing documents from our divine source, Jesus Christ. We need truth now more than ever to guide us.
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I’m believing, God, let this be a testimony of the American church, that we become so full of the fire of the Word of God that we cannot contain it. We have to tell people about it. We have to make disciples.
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The idea of America was the idea that our rights don’t come from governments. They come from our divine creator, right? Government’s main job is to protect those rights. And because that was the foundation of America, we’ve enjoyed over the last 250 years more freedom, more prosperity, more stability than any other nation anywhere in the world. And that should be celebrated.
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We are living in a moment. What’s that moment? It’s a prophetic moment on God’s timeline. That’s right. And so he needs the church more than ever to act biblically for the blessing of our political leaders and of our nation.
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The number one issue facing America domestically, which is the epidemic of fatherlessness. 40% of all American children today enter the world without a father in the home married to the mother.
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We cannot win the pro-life fight without acknowledging that this is the pro-family fight, that this is the pro-marriage fight. We’re never going to end abortion if we do not secure and shore up marriage.
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We pray that this would be an opportunity, Lord God, for you to use us mere little mortals, but we possess the name of Jesus. God, use us mightily. We pray in Jesus’ name and all God’s people said amen.
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Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to The Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at The Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
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Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony, and thank you so much for joining us. All right, as we’ve stated, President Trump is in Japan today after starting his Asia tour with a stop in Malaysia. And so far during this five-day trip, President Trump has reached trade deal agreements with Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. He’s also participated in a ceremony for the U.S.-Malaysia facilitated peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand. But the big question, the big question out there remains as to whether or not a trade deal will be struck between President Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, who he’ll be meeting with later on this week. There was an initial framework that has been agreed to between officials of the two nations, but is that going to be enough to really bring the both countries together? And what is this going to look like? Joining me now to discuss this and more is Gordon Chang. He’s a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute. He’s also the author of Plan Red, China’s Project to Destroy America. You can follow him on X under the handle at Gordon G. Chang. Gordon, welcome back to Washington Watch. It’s always great to have you. Thank you so much, Jody. Okay, so do we know much about the framework that supposedly has been agreed to by some of the officials between the U.S. and China?
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We just know the broad outlines. There’s a one-year trade truce. And during this one year, the United States will not impose that additional 100% tariff. At the same time, the Chinese will not go through with their plans of a trade embargo on rare earths. They will buy soybeans. We’ll be talking about fentanyl. And apparently, both Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping, they’re going to sign a deal on TikTok. At least that’s what we’ve heard so far. So right now, the issue is going to be who uses this year best or better. And I think it’s going to be the United States because we see that we’re taking measures to reduce our vulnerability to China. But China is doubling down on policies that make it more trade dependent, which means making it more dependent on the U.S.,
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So in a year, taking what you said there, that this probably is the advantage to the U.S., does that give the U.S. another year to buy some time to come up with some means of less dependency on China? Do you think that’s what will happen?
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Well, it’s already happening. We saw that with the Australian prime minister in the White House signing that $8.7 billion deal on rare earths on Sunday, which was a great day for U.S. diplomacy. We had agreements with Thailand and Malaysia relating to rare earths. So we are moving in that direction. The trade agreements that President Trump has been signing up this year, they tend to isolate China, and that’s important for us. So we’re going in a good direction. But there’s one thing we have to be concerned about, and that is that we are giving up a concrete action not imposing the 100% tariff. And we’re doing that in exchange for vague Chinese promises. And we’ve been down this road before. The Chinese don’t honor their obligations. So this is going to be just something that we have to look at day in, day out, because we do not want the Chinese dishonoring the agreements that they made with us.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, great, great point there. Even if a deal is struck, there is the issue of compliance to that deal. So that brings up a whole nother issue. How will the U.S. respond, do you think, if compliance is not met?
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Well, I hope that President Trump would just impose an additional tariff. And that would be an important thing. Plus, you know, there’s also one other issue lurking in the background. And that is that the United States is going to talk to the Chinese about Chinese support for Russia in the Ukraine war. Now, Trump has not imposed that additional 25% tariff on China for buying Russian oil. That’s the tariff we’ve already imposed on India. Now, the Chinese say that they’re going to stop buying Russian oil. I think we have to see it before we believe it.
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Well, it’s going to be very, very interesting for sure to see how all of this comes out, no doubt. Now, they are going to be meeting in South Korea, President Trump and President Xi, which is expected to be President Trump’s last stop of this tour, barring any impromptu meeting perhaps with North Korea. But we’ve seen some troubling developments even in South Korea, particularly how the government has been dealing with the church and religious leaders there recently. And so while we have a little bit of time left, I wanted to get your take on what’s been going on there in that regard in South Korea. Yeah.
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E.J. Meng, the new president, is very pro-China, very pro-North Korea, very anti-U.S., and he’s been jailing and detaining a number of religious leaders and basically holding them. A number of them have been detained for what’s called political activity, which is prohibited, but normally it’s just a very technical violation. got a fine and then sent off. But Yijie Meng is actually indefinitely detaining religious leaders. So this looks like an attack on religion. And it is just all religions right now, but especially Christianity is being hit. And you’d expect that from someone who looks like a communist. And Yijie Meng, unfortunately, although he says he’s not, has been attacking democratic institutions. He’s been supporting the Chinese communists. This is a very bad situation. South Korea could turn communist. I’m not saying, Jody, that it will happen. I’m saying that it could happen.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and that’s what’s concerning to many of us who have been following this. It’s really a turbulent time there. Only got about a minute or so left, Gordon, going back to the President’s Asia tour. In your mind, what will it take for this trip to be looked upon as a success? Yeah.
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Well, I look at our relations with our friends. So, for instance, the president right now is in Japan. He’s solidifying our relationship. He’s meeting the new Japanese prime minister, Takeichi Sanai. And that’s important. He met the emperor a few hours ago. That’s symbolically powerful. On the first stop, he had signed up all those deals you talked about. I think that those are more important than meeting Xi Jinping, because as we are very close, perhaps, to very bad outcomes, we need our friends and our partners, and we need to solidify those relationships. It’s more important than trying to please people and regimes that hate us.
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Well, there is so, so much at stake, and we appreciate you, Gordon Chang, Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute, for your expertise and for coming on and filling us in. Thank you very much. Well, thank you, Jody. All right, coming up, we’ll highlight the nation’s largest candidate research organization. They focus exclusively on informing Christians. Stay tuned.
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For over 4,000 years, the Jewish people have had legal, historical, and biblical ties to the land of Israel, especially the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, which much of the world still calls the West Bank. To Israelis, Judea and Samaria is far more than a name. It’s the center of their ancestral homeland where nearly 80% of the Bible’s events took place. Abraham purchased property in Hebron, Jacob in Shechem, Joshua made an altar on Mount Ebal and led the Israelites into a covenant before God. On Mount Gerizim, overlooking Shechem, Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well about worshiping neither on Mount Gerizim nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth. Judea and Samaria is nearly a quarter of Israel’s current land mass, not a small strip of land on the Jordan River, but a vital and strategic part of the nation’s identity. The October 7th massacre, launched from Gaza, shattered the illusion that giving away territory brings peace. Gaza, which was once seen as the cornerstone of a two-state solution, became a launchpad for terror. Today, only 21 percent of Israelis support a Palestinian state. Trust in a two-state solution has all but collapsed. The Middle East is changing. Iran’s grip is weakening. New alliances are forming. But Western countries and some U.S. officials still chase the mirage of a two-state solution. History speaks clearly. The 2005 Gaza withdrawal, backed by the U.S., led not to peace, but to a terrorist regime. Judea and Samaria are 24 times larger than Gaza, deeply woven into Israel’s geographic and spiritual fabric. To surrender them would not bring peace. It would invite conflict and existential danger. Family Research Council stands with Israel’s rightful claim to sovereignty. It’s time for America to do the same for history, for justice, and for lasting security in the Middle East.
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Thank you for tuning in today to Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, an honor to be filling in for Tony. All right, it’s time for our weekly Standing Together segment. This is a time where we highlight organizations that share our commitment to advance the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, and freedom. And this week, we want to shine the light on AFA Action. the governmental affairs affiliate of American Family Association, and the parent organization of iVoterGuide, which is the nation’s largest candidate research organization that focuses exclusively on informing and mobilizing voters with biblical values. And joining me now to share more about her organization is Debbie Wuthnau. She’s the president of iVoterGuide and vice president of AFA Action. Debbie, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to have you. Great to be back. Well, let me first of all say with an underscore, thank you so much for joining us a couple of weeks ago at our PrayVoteStand Summit. You were outstanding, and we truly appreciate you and your partnership and kingdom work, not only at that event, but beyond with all sorts of things that you do. So thank you so much for joining us for that.
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It was our honor. It’s a fabulous event. And as a voter guide, it’s great to be part of the PrayVote stand.
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Well, let’s jump into that. iVoterGuide, I love it. Of course, we partner with iVoterGuide. But it’s good timing right now. There are some elections coming up right around the corner. So why don’t we start right there, share with our audience about what iVoterGuide provides for voters and how they can access it.
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Well, so our goal is just to educate voters. We create personalized ballots for every address in America. We don’t cover every election down ballot quite yet, but in this year that you might not think there’s not a lot on the ballot, we’re covering quite a bit. So in Virginia and New Jersey, we’re going to be covering all of your statewide and state legislative candidates, as well as some school board races. And if you go to iVoterGuide.com and you just enter your address, you will see your personalized ballot. They’re at iVoterGuide.com. New Jersey has statewide and state legislative elections on the ballot. Same thing, you can get your personalized ballot there. But we’re also covering some municipal and some school board races. The New York City mayoral race is being covered by iVoterGuide. We’re covering Albuquerque City Council. several city councils in Kansas, Public Service Commission in Georgia. Pennsylvania has some Supreme Court races up for retention, and we’ve actually got lawyers that have researched those judges. So you can find out if they are an activist or an originalist if you live in Pennsylvania. And again, the goal is for you to get your personalized voter guide by entering your address. But if you want to scroll down and click on the map, you can click on any state and see what’s going on in that state that iVoterGuide is covering. If you’re in one of those states and you need to know where your polling place is, we also have that if you click on your map. So we’ve got school boards in about a dozen states. We’ve got special elections going on and ballot measures in California. They’ve got their redistricting ballot measure. And then Maine has some voter registration ballot measures. And Texas has parental rights and citizenship voting on the ballot. So quite a few things at iVoterGuide.com.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, it’s really amazing, Debbie, and while at the PrayVoteStand Summit, actually while you were speaking, I was, of course, sitting out in the audience, and there were a number of people saying, wow, wow, ooh, wow, while you were talking about some of this. So go just a little bit further. When you say people can personalize the ballot, perhaps for some that is pretty clear, but describe that a little bit further, just how personal – of a ballot and personal information can voters pull up?
SPEAKER 22 :
Well, we do we really do an in-depth research on every candidate. We’ve got a lot of data, but we make it easy to use. So you enter your address and you’ll just see the races and candidates on your ballot. You don’t need to know you’re in, you know, House of Delegates District 47 or Virginia Senate District 63 or what school district you’re in. If iVoterGuide’s covering it, you enter your address. You’ll see those races and candidates. And we’ll have little green check marks because if we found a data point. So if we found campaign finance data, there’ll be a green check mark. Same with scorecards if they’ve ever held office before. I don’t know if you know Winsome Sears served in the House of Delegates. So she has scorecards from when she was a state legislator. We also have how they’ve answered our questionnaire. And we’ve dug deep on campaign finance data. So even in school board candidates, like in Loudoun County and Virginia Beach, where we’re covering those school board candidates, our team has gotten those reports that you can see for yourself. But we also summarize who’s giving money to the candidate, who they’re expending money on. And so all the research is there, but what’s really unique about iVoterGuide is we have an army of volunteers and our staff who dig deep and rate every candidate and their political philosophy, making it really easy to use. It’s a gas gauge, ranges from far left to far right. We’ve got all of those ratings in these elections this November, but yet you can see the data for yourself. So it’s just truth and objective data, not to tell you who to vote for, but to really help you cut through the media spin and see really what those candidates will do if you choose to have them represent you.
SPEAKER 11 :
We’ve got only about a minute or so left, but FRC Action is proud to be a partner with iVoterGuide, and we want to see as many people as possible utilize the resource and research from iVoterGuide. We’ve got some elections coming up. What is your message to those who may be planning to vote? What do they need to do?
SPEAKER 22 :
Well, my first message, if you’re not planning to vote, you need to vote. We need Christians to let their light shine. in the public square, and that includes voting and voting wisely. So go to iVoterGuide.com and then get yourself to the polls. Either vote early if you can, which you have until the first or second, or vote on election day on November 4th by using the information at iVoterGuide. Because races are really, not as many people vote in these off-year elections. They’re not even sometimes aware that they are an election. So, you know, we have school board races that iVoterGuide’s covered. A third of them were won by less than 400 votes. So really, every voter.
SPEAKER 11 :
We’ve got to wrap it up, Debbie.
SPEAKER 22 :
Thank you.
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Debbie was now president of I Voter Guide. I Voter Guide dot com. Thank you so much for joining us. All right, friends coming up. We’ll go to our panel to discuss news from the weekend. Stay with us.
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In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory. The Family Research Council invites you to join our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan as we reflect upon the life of Jesus, the Word who dwelt among us. Come with us and discover the glory of the Word. Read the Gospels and witness the life-changing story of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection. Come read how Jesus transformed the lives of common people and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Come with us for 10 to 15 minutes a day and read the entire New Testament before the new year. Find our Bible reading plan in daily devotionals from Tony Perkins at frc.org slash Bible. Join us and stand on the word.
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Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs decision, a ruling that overturned Roe versus Wade, which for nearly 50 years imposed abortion on demand, silencing voters and bypassing the democratic process across the country. The Dobbs decision was a huge step forward against abortion, but it didn’t outright ban it. It returned the power to the people. Now, 29 states have laws on the books protecting life. However, there’s a catch. Abortion numbers since Dobbs have actually gone up with an increase of 12% since 2020, climbing from 930,000 to over 1 million in each of the most recent years. So how can this be? The answer is simple, the abortion drug. Today, over 60% of US abortions involve abortion drugs, many of these without medical oversight. In 2021, the Biden administration quietly removed bare minimum longstanding safety protocols for the abortion drug that have existed for 20 years to protect women from life-threatening risks and ensuring informed consent. The Biden DOJ then declared that they would not enforce the Comstock Act, which prevents the mailing of anything that causes an abortion. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous. A study shows nearly 11% of women who take the abortion drug end up in the emergency room with serious complications. Unless the Trump administration reverses these reckless Biden-era policies, pro-life laws will remain largely symbolic. Without a full review and repeal of Mifepristone, unborn lives will remain in grave danger and pregnant mothers will remain at risk. Let’s stand for life and end this mail order abortion drug pipeline. Sign the petition urging the Trump administration to take action at frc.org slash stop chemical abortion.
SPEAKER 11 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, keeping the torch ablaze today. While Tony is out, thank you so much for joining us. All right, before we go to our final guest for today, I want to remind you about a new resource that we have here at FRC. Many of you have joined us for our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan. We’ve heard from so many of you. But we’ll be starting a new 14-day journey through Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon starting this Saturday, November 1st. And we have a new study guide to go along with it. It’s called Paul’s Prison Letters, and it will help you if you come along with us through this new reading program to find out and to get a copy, to find out more about it. Text the word LETTERS That would be like Paul’s letters. Letters, and that’s plural, to 67742. Come along with us. Let’s stand on the word together. All right, as we often like to do on Mondays, we want to take a look at the news that’s been buzzing over the weekend and bring on a panel from the Washington stand, and certainly the government shutdown remains the most talked about news, but there are some other notable news items that are out there to discuss as well. So now to go over some of those news items, Casey Harper and Mark Tapscott from the Washington stand. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining me today. I appreciate it. Thanks, Jody.
SPEAKER 10 :
My pleasure.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, let’s start off with what everyone seems to be talking about, the government shutdown. We are now in day 27. Casey, you actually hit on this at the top of the program, so let me start with you. Can you unpack for us some more about this week, how this week really looks different perhaps from previous weeks when it comes to the shutdown? We’ve got some deadlines coming up this week. How does that potentially change things?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, the second longest shutdown in government history is about to become a lot more painful for a lot of people for a few reasons. Congressional staffers for the House this week and then next week the Senate, they’re going to start missing those paychecks. The lawmakers will still get their paychecks. There’s a caveat in the Constitution. that prevents you from, you can’t just cut a lawmaker’s salary. I think that was meant to avoid some pettiness from lawmakers. But it’s not just the congressional staff. Many civilian employees across government agencies, they’re gonna miss, if they haven’t already, they’re gonna miss their first full paychecks Tuesday or Thursday. So that’s a big one. The troops are on the verge of not getting paid again unless President Trump pulls again from that emergency Pentagon research budget to pay the troops. But that budget is running low. So he can’t do that indefinitely. We also talked at the top of the program, as you mentioned, about food stamps. million Americans. November 1st, they’re supposed to get those, the SNAP benefits. And some states are working to help get those benefits still, but they’re going to start missing those benefits and states can’t keep paying for them without the federal government forever. And then one more I’ll mention, although there are others, Jody, is air traffic. We’re going to start seeing air delays pile up more and more. They’re already starting. But going into the all-important Thanksgiving travel season, if this doesn’t get cleared up by then, there could be a lot of pain on the Thanksgiving travel front.
SPEAKER 11 :
There’s a lot unfolding this week, so I know that puts a lot of pressure on them. Mark, let me run over to you now. You’ve written a piece that was published in the Washington Stand that really did an outstanding job digging into a part of this whole shutdown that many people may not be aware of, and that’s what’s fueling it all, probably a better terminology, what’s funding it all. And that’s the demand for a permanent extension of temporary Obama tax subsidies. Take a moment, if you will, and unpack that for us.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, Jody, there is a phrase that I’m sure you’ve heard from time to time in your career. When you want to figure out what’s really going on, you follow the money. And if these temporary Obamacare tax subsidies become permanent, as the Democrats are demanding that it be, here’s what will happen. That will create approximately $52 billion in additional revenue for the healthcare insurance industry. That’s a lot of money and they are spending lavishly on lobbying, and they have been all of this year, to make sure that they don’t lose that income. The 50 billion, 52 billion would be over and above what they’re getting now, which is in the neighborhood of 40 billion a year. So it shouldn’t surprise any of us. They’ve spent their 10 largest health insurance companies have spent about $24 million just through the end of September on lobbying. That’s the most they’ve ever spent in this particular – that period through the third quarter. So you follow the money. You see what’s really at stake for the Democrats.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and you know, I think somebody has to ask the question, if Obamacare was such a great deal, then why are subsidies even needed? I guess that’s a discussion for another time. Mark, while I’ve got you, let me ask you this. Speaking of behind-the-scenes money, If we can put it that way, there’s an open source intelligence report that has gotten some attention over the weekend. And it basically has revealed how China provided more than half a billion dollars to top ranked American universities in recent years. What is that all about?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, you know, the Chinese have for a number of years, they literally have sent millions of students to American schools because we still have the best education system at the graduate level. And in the process of that, they also have cultivated relationships, programmatic and personal, at Harvard, Yale, you name a major university in this country, and they have done it. And one of the calling cards for that is obviously money to fund professorships, for example. And with professorships in the academic world, he who pays the bill decides what gets taught. And that’s basically what the Chinese are trying to do here, to shape how education is done here in America.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, that’s startling information. Let me throw that back over to you, Casey, as well. I mean, this is pretty concerning when potentially the Chinese Communist Party is quietly steering who and what gets funded and actually perhaps even what gets taught at our base. universities.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I mean, they certainly have a hand in steering the content of the education, and that’s pretty troublesome. But it’s not just that, Jody. They actually steal an incalculable amount of intellectual property. And they target specific, the best universities and specific STEM and science programs. And it’s important to know that they’re not just stealing from Stanford, although they have, or not just stealing from Harvard, although they have. They’re stealing research that took maybe 10 years of federally funded research. So the federal government pays millions of dollars to these universities to find cures, to come up with weapons technology, to develop new ways to make solar panels slightly more efficient so they can go on an aircraft carrier or something like that. And then at the end of the process, as Mark alluded to, that there’s a Chinese national student or a bought-off professor just hands the information over. And this is not just speculation. I mean, you have the data that Mark laid out. But there is a Harvard professor, for instance, who is getting $50,000 a month. $50,000 a month from this Chinese group that is helping coordinate with professors and pay them off. And he was eventually charged for something related to that. But he’s just one example. It’s not just Harvard. It’s all these universities. And they’re stealing… secrets, they’re stealing research that Americans paid for to fund. And I’ll point out one more thing before I toss it back to you, Jody, which a lot of people don’t know this, is that Chinese national students who come to study in the U.S. are legally obligated in China to cooperate with Chinese intelligence gathering operations, even when they’re in the U.S. So if you’re a Chinese national from Hong Kong, you come to the U.S. to study at a place like Stanford, and the Chinese intelligence gathering folks call you up, you’re obligated legally to work with them whether you want to or not, and you will face legal consequences if you don’t. And there’s thousands of these students at schools all around the country.
SPEAKER 11 :
So in essence, they’re spies.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, unwilling often, but yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, unwilling, but I mean, the Chinese government is using them in that way. Casey, let me keep you while I’ve got you here right now. Let’s turn to some good news if we can dig something up here. There’s got to be something around here somewhere.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
But a federal judge last week actually ruled against the former Biden administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX to force the radical gender ideology on the American people. Tell us a little bit about that case. I know you’ve been following it.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I’ve read a lot about this case. It’s been going on for years and years, and it’s hard to understate the importance of this. So basically what the Biden administration did, this did not get a lot of attention at the time, but they took laws that were meant to protect, ironically, to protect women and women’s sports, and they change the meanings of the words in the laws to make it also apply to transgender people. So the law specifically says you can’t discriminate against people on the basis of sex. And that was meant to protect women’s sports and to make sure that You know, you weren’t like denying care to women for some reason or giving way more money to the guy’s football team and not giving any money to the women’s volleyball team. That’s what it was meant to do, to protect women. But the Biden administration said, well, you know that word sex, even though it was written in 1972 and it’s meant sex ever since it was written, it actually meant gender identity and sexuality, Jody. You didn’t know that, but that’s what those lawmakers in 1972 and decades ago meant when they wrote sex. They meant the gender spectrum that hadn’t even been invented then. And so because of that, they were able to force on schools, all kinds of, and other institutions, all kinds of different policy changes and threatened to withhold federal funding and say in the case of health care, you know, a nurse or someone could be punished for refusing to engage in some kind of transgender procedure or something because it was discrimination on the basis of sex. And so this ruling is really important because it undoes what Biden did there. And it does not just apply to the 15 states that filed the lawsuit, but it applies in all 50 states.
SPEAKER 11 :
So, Mark, Give me your take on this. Is this just another example of the left trying to hijack something that perhaps was created originally for good, but now is being hijacked to advance a radical agenda?
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, I think that’s exactly what it is. As it happens, I have a good friend who was the first ever women’s field hockey scholarship winner at the University of Virginia. This is some years back, right after the Title IX took effect. And you look at what’s happening now. She was quite petite. She’s very fast, very, very quick on her feet. But if she had to play today against trans males who may weigh 100 pounds more than her, she would very likely be injured. And that would, you know, she would not be unique in that. The trans ideology is intended by the left to give bureaucrats and government supervision over that aspect of American education, and it’s a serious, serious problem.
SPEAKER 11 :
It is a serious problem and a dangerous problem. Who would ever have imagined, what, even five years ago, that we would be watching men in women’s sports? And we’ve seen a number of women injured with all of this. Absolutely. Who would have ever imagined that we would be here? Casey, let me come back to you. You had mentioned that there were 15 states here, but this ruling is going to go beyond the 15 states. So how does that work? Where do you see this going long term? What is this actually going to mean on a national scale?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, well, it’s good news, obviously, for those opposed to the forcing of transgender ideology on these schools and other places. You know, anything can always go to the Supreme Court, but who can predict that? Right now, this is a major win in an issue that the right has largely stacked up win after win after win at the Supreme Court. And you have to think that the opponents actually will not be eager to bring it to this court because this court has shown to be disfavorable to some of the arguments there. But long term, what does it really mean? It means that institutions that want to be unbiased or stay out of the transgender thing, they can stay out of it. It’s important to know that the Biden administration’s policy was not, hey, everybody just kind of make your own decisions, live and let live. The Biden administration policy said, you will fully embrace the transgender ideology. You will put money behind it. You will change signs on doors. You will provide different facilities. And if you don’t, you will lose money and you might be fined. And schools, I wrote years ago about how they were threatening to take school funding. A lot of schools get federal assistance to pay for lunch for low-income kids. The Biden administration was threatening to take that money away from schools that didn’t get on board, for instance, with transgender locker rooms. And this was not just education. It was across the board. But education has, of course, been a big battlefield on this.
SPEAKER 11 :
And, Mark, that goes right back to what you were saying earlier. Invariably, follow the money trail, and it’ll lead you to all sorts of issues that we need to have brought to our attention and to be dealt with. I didn’t ask you, Mark, real quickly, your thoughts on the government shutdown this week. You were talking about the money trail and all those things. Where do you see—what’s your take on what you think might happen this week? Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
I don’t really expect much of anything to happen this week. I know there are some informal talks going on between some Senate Republicans and Senate Dems. There’s frankly not a lot of encouragement that those talks are going to result in anything. My guess is we’re going to have to see some real manifestation of serious pain. Thanksgiving flights not being available, for example, SNAP children not being able to be fed before we’re going to see some serious consideration of what’s going on and Democrats in the Senate reconsidering their position.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, it’s going to be an extremely important week seeing how all this unfolds. There’s a lot at stake. You know, you just look at the whole landscape. There’s the presidents in Asia so much at stake in that trip that is taking place. We’ve got the shutdown and a host of things happening in our own country. We look across Europe. to Israel. And we see all the issues that are happening there. It just seems like the whole world is on fire. And I just want to personally say a huge shout out and thank you to both of you and all those at the Washington Stand for an outstanding job that you do of keeping us informed of what’s happening. And we are deeply grateful. I want to thank both of you gentlemen for joining us today on Washington Stand. We appreciate it very much.
SPEAKER 10 :
My pleasure.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, friends, that’s all we have today on this edition of Washington Watch. As always, thank you for tuning in. Hope you have a fantastic evening and we will continue on tomorrow right here on Washington Watch.
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.
