The Washington Stand’s Casey Harper reports on the status of the SAVE America Act and hopes of passing a Reconciliation 2.0 to fund the Department of Homeland Security. He also shares about the Department of Justice’s decision to fire four federal
SPEAKER 18 :
From the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview, Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 14 :
In five short days, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA for short, is set to expire. Section 702 is an essential national security tool. Section 702 has saved countless lives in the United States and even abroad.
SPEAKER 08 :
That was Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa earlier today addressing the reauthorization of the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, better known as FISA. Welcome to this Wednesday, April 15th edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Tony Bergens. Thanks for joining us. Well, coming up, both chambers of Congress are back in session on this tax day with the reauthorization of FISA and the Department of Homeland Security funding at the top of the agenda. As Democrats continue to obstruct efforts to advance legislation funding DHS, the question remains, will Republicans turn to reconciliation to move forward? Congressman Keith Self will join us shortly with his reaction to the latest developments on Capitol Hill. Plus, Bunny Pounce, president of Christians Engage, shares details on the upcoming America Reads the Bible initiative as our country prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary. All of that and more straight ahead. Congress is back in session after a two-week Easter recess, and they’re debating some major issues. Joining us now to discuss this is Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper. Casey, what’s on the agenda for this week?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, Tony, it’s beautiful here in D.C. The cherry blossoms are out, but man, lawmakers definitely have their work cut out for them. I mean, House and Senate Democrats are planning to push for separate votes this week on Iran war powers resolutions, which in a normal week might be the biggest vote of the week. But this week, it’s anything but. We still have debate around the Save America Act. You remember President Trump said he’s not signing anything until they pass the Save America Act. Not sure if he still feels that way. We’ve got fighting over funding DHS and the debate there. And then you played that Chuck Grassley clip, which is very, very important. FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Section 702, is under debate. The House is expected to take up the reauthorization of 702, which, of course, is the program that allows U.S. spy agencies to keep track of and surveil foreign intelligence information. But the debate there does not fall neatly along party lines. There’s some Republicans who are unhappy with it. And by the way, Tony, last but certainly not least, they’re still debating reforms to DHS to get ICE and Border Patrol funded. So a very busy week here on the Hill.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, four Justice Department prosecutors, Casey, have been fired by the Trump administration for allegations regarding their involvement in the cases against pro-lifers that resulted in prison sentence. We talked about this yesterday with the release of the DOJ report. What more do we know about that, Casey?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, that’s right, Tony. We saw that report come out and really grab D.C.’ ‘s attention, which really confirmed a lot of what we’ve been suspecting for a long time, that there’s a lot of bad behavior at the DOJ under the Biden administration. And now we have reporting an official announcement from the Department of Justice on X that they terminated the employees who are responsible for what they called weaponizing. That’s their word, weaponizing the FACE Act to go after employees. And just to remind our audience, this report really found something startling, which was that the Biden DOJ worked with pro-abortion groups to use the FACE Act to go after pro-life activists and go even advocate for longer prison sentences. This report was over 800 pages. It had 700,000 records, which laid out a pattern of selective enforcement of the FACE Act. But now the Trump administration is saying that that’s done at the DOJ and they’re going to clean things up.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, all the more reason we have to watch closely what’s going on in government and who we elect to do the watching. Turning now to some international news. President Trump says the war with Iran is close to being over, and he suggests another round of talks with Iran could be happening very soon. What’s the latest on these developments?
SPEAKER 19 :
Sure, Tony. I mean, we’ve heard some of this rhetoric from the president before, but we do have reason to believe now that there could be more substance behind it because of this naval blockade of Iran. So to your point, President Trump said that we have an amazing two days ahead. That was his language. And he even said that he doesn’t think it will be necessary to extend that two-week ceasefire. He thinks they can maybe work something out before then or maybe just kind of extend it indefinitely as they continue to work out terms. But that is because the U.S. military has been stopping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, including a Chinese vessel, which really, you know, that had the potential to really escalate things in this war. And thankfully, it did not escalate things to a really dangerous point with the Chinese, even though they had some sharp rhetoric about this. know twofold really with what’s going on here in the strait of hormuz one it puts a lot of economic pressure on iran because their economy relies very heavily on getting that oil out of their country and to the rest of the world and if it’s really blockaded long term you can see economic collapse for them and it also potentially relieves some of the pressure on president trump globally because if he can reopen that straight for the rest of the world to get their oil while pressuring iran that could be a win-win for him and the u.s
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, Casey, thanks so much for the update. We’ll see you a little bit later in the program. I want to go back to the efforts to fund the immigration enforcement and to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Joining us now to discuss all of this and a bit more is Congressman Keith Self, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and a founding member of the Syria Free America Caucus. He represents the 3rd Congressional District of Texas. Congressman Self, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. Great to be here, Tony. Thank you so much. So Senate Republicans are moving forward with a reconciliation bill that would fund border security and immigration for the next three years. The bill apparently is key to ending this DHS shutdown. When do you think we may see something?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, supposedly they are expediting it. Of course, in the Senate, what does expedited mean? So they basically screwed this up before they went on their two-week break. They failed to fund ICE and CBP. So we’re trying to rescue it now with this two-phased approach. I will tell you, the House wants to see progress on the reconciliation part of it before we fund the rest of DHS. We would much prefer, Tony, to have one bill to fully fund a department, a full department. Because when you start chopping up appropriations bills, that sets a horrible precedent. But that’s where we are today. We want to see progress on the reconciliation, the skinny reconciliation. to make sure they’re serious about funding ICE and CBP. You cannot leave ICE and CBP behind.
SPEAKER 08 :
I want to turn to another topic which you are well aware of and involved in, and that is FISA, the reauthorization of Section 702. A lot of controversy surrounding FISA in general. People just quite frankly, don’t trust government and they don’t trust these tools in the hands of government. The president has asked for an 18-month clean reauthorization, no amendments. Is that going to happen?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don’t think so. We’re in negotiations even today as we speak. We have another meeting that will be set at some point. So we understand, I think everybody understands that we must have reform because we know, Tony, we know that warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens is still taking place. Yes, we put in reforms two years ago, but we know, we know without a doubt that warrantless surveillance of American citizens still continue. That is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, unreasonable search and seizure. So we are standing on the Constitution to make sure that we get something about a warrant so that we can put some guardrails Look, everybody wants 702 to continue. Our military uses it. We want to get the bad guys as much as anybody else does. But we must protect our citizens under the Fourth Amendment.
SPEAKER 08 :
So for those that say, oh, we can’t have that, we’ve got to be able to use it as it is, what would hinder them to get the warrant? I mean, why is that a problem?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, if they have an immediate situation, that’s a situation that is covered. They can do that without a warrant and then come back. We’re talking about the normal situation where it is not an emergency, not an exigent situation. We just asked, look, we have an idea to actually put a judge on the Fisk court to do nothing but approve warrants. It doesn’t take one or two days to write a warrant. It takes 10 minutes to call the judge, lay out your case, get the warrant and go execute it. So we believe it’s vitally important for where it’s needed.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, given the abuses that we’ve seen in FISA, this simply provides accountability and oversight, right?
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. It provides what every law enforcement agency knows to do. Go get a warrant before you incarcerate, before you attack, before you arrest American citizens. It is fundamental to our justice system.
SPEAKER 08 :
I want to ask you another question. As I mentioned at the top of this segment, that you are the chair of the Sharia Free America Caucus. Recently in Texas, voters in Texas in the Republican primary went and they overwhelmingly, about 95 percent of them said, we do not want Sharia law in the state of Texas. You know, this was flying under the radar for most Americans, but it’s a real threat.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely, Tony. We are now learning just how much of an immediate threat this is. When you reach 4 or 5 percent of your population is Muslim, you’re going to see them start to demand things. And we’re seeing that increasingly in places across America. Once we started the Sharia Free America Caucus, people felt free to tell us about their own experience. It’s widespread, and it’s growing, and it’s dangerous.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, along those same lines in local news, there’s been some debate in Texas over new education standards for social studies. And there was allegedly misrepresentation of Islam. And so there’s that continues to be an issue. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER 03 :
I am delighted that the Texas citizens stepped up to go before the State Board of Education and at the end of the day they voted, an initial vote, that’s true, but they voted to keep the Christian standards on which our civilization is based. They are not going to have Islam-specific items in the curriculum. That’s what they were asking. And they say it’s an accurate depiction, an accurate depiction of Sharia would be much harsher than anyone realizes, because that’s the problem we’re having, educating people on the dangers, on the horrors of full-blown Sharia. So I was delighted that the Texas citizens stepped up, went to the State Board of Education, made their case, and convinced the State Board of Education that the Islamic curriculum would not take place in Texas.
SPEAKER 08 :
Sometimes this brings about confrontation. It’s sometimes uncomfortable. But if we don’t step up and we don’t speak out about these things, we lose our country.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely, because this is a totally incompatible system of government. It’s a governance system that is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. You cannot have two separate legal standards in America. We must continue to obey the U.S. Constitution, and it is the only law in the land. Everything, state law, local law, flows from the U.S. Constitution only.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, Congressman Kieself, just a little less than a minute left. What else should we be looking for for the rest of the week? What should we be watching Capitol Hill for?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we always watch the Save America Act because, frankly, the Senate needs to get it done. It looks to me like they’re going to have to totally nuke the filibuster to get it done. But our base, our base wants election integrity. It’s one of the most important things for the midterm elections. The Senate needs to get it done, Tony.
SPEAKER 08 :
Common sense. It’s common sense legislation protecting our elections integrity. Critical. Congressman Keith Self, always great to see you, my friend. Thanks so much for joining us. Great to see you, Tony. Thank you. All right, folks, don’t go away because we’ve got a lot more Washington Watch still to come here on this Wednesday. Check out the website, TonyPerkins.com. Be right back after these messages.
SPEAKER 06 :
250 years ago, our founding fathers signed a death warrant, pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the idea that our rights do not come from men alone. but from God. Protected by Providence, they brought forth a new nation, one nation under God, whose word rings beneath every law and liberty. Family Research Council believes in preserving this rich history, the grounds of our freedom, our undeniable foundation of faith.
SPEAKER 02 :
I think all people really need to have this type of education.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, I can tell you that it’s been an amazing course, period.
SPEAKER 10 :
I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we’re doing with our families and with our work.
SPEAKER 09 :
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 17 :
I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would have took it earlier that I could have taught my kids this.
SPEAKER 02 :
I wish I had known these things when we were homeschooling because I think children and my adults now would just greatly be influenced by that information.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 12 :
Any pastor would benefit from taking this course because we are dual citizens, right? We are citizens of the kingdom of God, but we’re also citizens of this great land, and that comes with responsibility.
SPEAKER 10 :
Even as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for a while, you’re learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it’s also approachable enough that newer people, younger people, high school, college students, they can really glean something from this. So… 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 09 :
View the course at frc.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in on this tax day. That’s right, today is tax day, April the 15th. Normally a day that Republicans dread. But this year is a little different with the passage of last summer of the one big beautiful bill that provided significant tax relief for American workers that they’re now seeing. Joining us now to talk about this, a member of the House Budget Committee, Indiana Congressman Marlon Stutzman. He represents the 3rd District of Indiana. Congressman Stutzman, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. Thank you, Tony. Great to be with you. So the American people are starting to see the fruit of the one big beautiful bill.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, you know, finally, we’re at that point. We’ve been talking about it for a long time. Of course, a year ago, we were working the bill through the process between the House and the Senate. We got it through the Senate under reconciliation. And, you know, Tony, I told a lot of other members it was the best bill i think i’ve ever voted on in congress in my time serving here and it does so many things from tax policy of course it defunded planned parenthood for one year which is something that we’re continuing to work on to continue that defunding the energy policy that was really important to boost the energy supply in this country and give us new places to of course supply the americans and also exports we’re now exporting energy and not just importing. We’re able to supply for ourselves and export. But also, you know, there was school choice issues in there as well. But today being tax day, just in Indiana alone, on average, Hoosiers are going to be saving almost $3,000 more than what they would have if the taxes would have gone up. Of course, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, which is a big deal. for manufacturing and the 80 million hourly workers in this country that are incentivized to work longer hours because they get to keep that money and not pay it in taxes. So it’s a good day and looking forward to this just continuing to strengthen the American people and their personal budgets to be able to support their families.
SPEAKER 08 :
And so that’s the individual side of this. But collectively, what we also see here is growth in the economy. This is going to lead to a growing, more vibrant economy. This stands in contrast to what the Democratic Party has to offer. I mean, they voted against the tax cuts. They want more government regulation. We saw that last time with the Biden administration. Isn’t this a story that the Republicans should be and will be telling as you go into the midterm elections?
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. You know, Tony, this is really a story of two different visions. It’s a story of bigger government for the Democrats, or the Republican vision is believing in the American people and letting the American people keep more of their own hard-earned money. I mean, I’ll tell you, we were talking today in a roundtable with small business owners, and we were talking about, you know, could we eventually, you know, take those taxes off of a bonus? If you’ve ever gotten a Christmas bonus, and, you know, let’s say it’s $500, And you’re thinking right away what you’re going to be buying for your kids or your grandkids for Christmas. And then all of a sudden you get that and the taxes have gone out and you have almost $70 less than what you thought you would. So it really is, this is a personal issue when it comes to taxes. People work hard for their money. And of course, when they send so much of it to Washington, it gets very frustrating. And that’s why I think that this is going to continue to strengthen the economy, strengthen small businesses, and of course, grow the United States economy, which is the strongest in the world.
SPEAKER 08 :
I want to shift gears here, Congressman Stutzman. You mentioned energy. One of the things that was in this bill, one of the things we saw in the previous Trump administration was moving America toward energy independence so that we were not dependent upon foreign sources of oil. We see how critical that is right now. I want to go to the Middle East. You track that very closely. We’ve been talking many times on what’s happening in the Middle East, Syria. Now we have… Possibly historic agreements coming possibly together between Lebanon and Israel. I mean, we’re continuing to see in the midst of this conflict with Iran a reshaping of the Middle East.
SPEAKER 04 :
You’re absolutely right. And it’s exciting and it’s encouraging. I just continue to hope and pray that this maintains the course that we’re on. President Trump has done a phenomenal job. He’s a strong negotiator. He’s a strong diplomat using those tools that he has and using the American strength, whether it’s the military or the economic power that we have and the ability. the abilities that we have. But as you mentioned, you know, as an energy supplying country, we are now exporting. We supply enough for ourselves that we can export. In fact, I just saw an article this morning talking about how ships are coming to the southern ports to buy oil because of the Straits of Hormuz being closed. But if anything can happen in the Middle East right now, and what we’re seeing happen, of course, with the attacks on Iran because of their nuclear weapon ambitions, that the the the Israel and Lebanon are talking in serious conversations and of course Saudi Arabia Arabia Qatar UAE and other countries are also realizing that you know I think they’re really secretly cheering us on in relation to Iran because they know Iran is a bully they know Iran has nuclear ambitions and they would use that against these countries And Israel is really leading here. I’ll tell you, God bless Israel for the courage and the strength and the ability that they have to lead here. They really are becoming a powerhouse in the Middle East.
SPEAKER 08 :
And some people don’t like that, like Turkey. Turkey’s not happy with that fact. But with Lebanon, they have been, I mean, they’ve never had an agreement. They’ve been at odds ever since Israel became a nation. But you have Hezbollah, which is there in Lebanon, Lebanon kind of an unwilling host for Hezbollah, which is essentially an appendage of Iran. If they’re removed in this relationship with Israel and Lebanon is formulated again, that could have influence throughout the Middle East, especially in Syria.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. You know, Syria and Lebanon often kind of stick together when it comes to the direction with governments. And, you know, these are both Bible-related countries, and that’s why I’m fascinated with them. You know, of course, Paul’s trip to Damascus, Christianity really flourished in Syria, and of course, you know, the stories of Lebanon. And if we could If those countries were safe, you know, I know people would flock to Jerusalem, to Israel, to see the Bible times, the land of the Bible times, and of course go to Damascus and Lebanon. The tourism ability there would be incredible. And it would just bring peace and stability to a very war-torn region. And, you know, Christians are being eliminated in Syria to do an extent. And it’s something that we’ve been working on, making sure that there’s religious freedom in Syria, that Christians have the ability to grow and flourish and be a part of the society there. And I’m encouraged. It’s not perfect. We’ve got a long way to go. And we also can’t lay our head down either and just expect it to be all okay now that the Assad regime is gone. The new regime we’re still keeping a very close eye on and making sure that he is respectful of all religions. But Lebanon and Israel is very encouraging, and hopefully that just continues to be a part of the domino effect in the Middle East.
SPEAKER 08 :
Marlon Sussman, I want to thank you for joining us. Always great to see you, my friend. All right, folks, stick with us. We’re coming back with some more right after this.
SPEAKER 09 :
Proverbs 22, 6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old, he will not depart from it.
SPEAKER 05 :
For God is the love of the world, that he is only God’s Son, and whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3, 16
SPEAKER 16 :
For know that my Redeemer lives.
SPEAKER 05 :
Job 19, 25. God raised Jesus from the dead because it was impossible for death to hold on Him. Acts 2, 24.
SPEAKER 09 :
Join Family Research Council in standing on the Word. Visit frc.org slash Bible for free resources to help your family follow the way. Jesus, the risen Savior of the world.
SPEAKER 07 :
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.
SPEAKER 11 :
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.
SPEAKER 07 :
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 08 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us on this Wednesday. All right, I want to invite you to join FRC’s Whom Will You Serve Challenge, drawing from Joshua chapter 24, verse 15. Like Joshua, we’re calling on believers to choose this day to serve the Lord rather than man. From defending the unborn to raising families with biblical values, it’s time for America to make a choice. Now, to join this challenge and to stand with the Family Research Council financially as we issue this challenge, just simply text the word challenge to 67742. That’s challenge to 67742. Thanks to a generous challenge match, any gift given through the end of this Friday will be tripled. Again, just text the word challenge to 67742. All right, coming up this weekend into next week as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s birth, well, nearly 500 Christian leaders will gather in Washington, D.C. at the Bible Museum for a continuous week-long reading of, you guessed it, the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Organized around the theme One Week, One Nation, One Book, the America Reads the Bible initiative is designed to highlight the enduring role of Scripture in both shaping personal faith and helping write the American story. And I’ll be among the nearly 500 Scripture readers on Sunday. I’ll be reading from the book of Genesis. Joining me now to talk more about this, Bunny Pounds, founder and president of Christians Engaged, who is spearheading this initiative next week. And she is doing so in partnership with the Great American Pure Flix and a coalition of ministries, including Family Research Council. Bunny, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, Tony, we are so thrilled to be together and thank you for speaking at our opening celebration and representing the power of the Bible’s impact on families. And again, reading from the book of Genesis, it’s going to be amazing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I want to thank you for carrying this load. I know that anytime you… promote scripture in a public way, it comes with spiritual warfare surrounding it. But the word of God, as the word says, does not return void. And so I’m believing for great and powerful things coming from this coming week. Talk a little bit about what’s going to be happening and how people can still be a part of it.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, our opening celebration starts on Saturday night with Tony Perkins. Come on, guys. It’ll be at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. We will be announcing a cabinet secretary soon. We just announced Speaker Mike Johnson will be with us, Congressman Michael Cloud, Patricia Heaton, Candace Cameron Bray, the Arnettes from the Forge movie. So many leaders that will be sharing their testimonies related to the power of the Bible. and then calling the American people back to daily Bible reading. I get to preach the gospel at the end, so I’m gonna do my Billy Graham impersonation myself. But it’s gonna be a powerful night, 90 minute show that is going to be streamed on over 2000 screens in churches and universities around the country. So play it in your family room. And then we go from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for seven full days. 84 hours, almost 500 readers. Mike Johnson will be reading as well in the Family Research Council hour, the second hour of Sunday. So we’re thrilled.
SPEAKER 08 :
Now, what do you hope comes from this? I mean, this is a burden that you’ve been carrying. When I say burden, it’s work, but you felt led by the Lord to do this. What do you hope comes from it?
SPEAKER 13 :
We’ve been praying consistently two prayers. One, Tony, that complacency and apathy is broken off the body of Christ as it relates to the Bible. I really hope that people realize that God speaks through every section of scripture and that you need to go to the Bible every day, guys, to be in poor in spirit, to know him, because our words don’t change anybody. Only the Bible changes people as we digest it and we spew it out every day in our lives. Secondly, for the American public, We hope that they see these social media clips and see the media around it and see important people that we’ll be announcing soon reading scripture and that it impacts their heart. That maybe there’s something in this book of wisdom that could impact their life. Maybe there’s something that could break depression off their life. Maybe there’s something that could save their family and their marriage. So I hope there’s a hunger that’s released over our country. Of course, we know in Romans 10, 17, faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. We believe faith is gonna be released this next week from April 18 to 25.
SPEAKER 08 :
AmericaReadsTheBible.com, folks, is where you can find out more about this. You know, Bunny, I’m praying and hopeful that, you know, as the scripture says about rediscovering the ancient paths, that as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation And those who know their history understand that the Bible played a fundamental role in the founding of this nation, that if we want to sustain it and carry it forward to future generations after Lord Terry’s, we need to return to that understanding of the role that Scripture plays in guiding and directing us individually but collectively as a nation.
SPEAKER 13 :
absolutely tony and i just want to say some of you guys just need to get on a plane and be there saturday in this national moment as we kind of return to the foundation of scripture for our country um some of y’all need to use how use this live stream to impact people at your business and your church and your neighborhood but we all have a responsibility tony to really dive deeper with the Lord because our nation needs new leaders and our leaders have to be grounded in a biblical worldview and know their God so we can do mighty exploits.
SPEAKER 08 :
AmericaReadsTheBible.com. There’s still time to make your plans to be there and to certainly be a part of it no matter where you are in the country. Bunny, we just have about 30 seconds left. I want to pray for you and pray for this event if we can. Let’s just pray. Father, we thank you for I thank you for Bunny and for, Lord, the fact that she’s been carrying this and that you gave her the vision for this. And I thank you for all those who have joined with her that share the desire to see our nation return to its understanding of the proper role of Scripture, not just individually, but publicly. And so I pray that there would be a turning back to you and that this would be one of those times we look back, a fundamental turning point. May you be glorified in this, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. Bunny, thanks so much. See you this weekend. Stick with us, folks. Exodus chapter 9, verse 1 says, Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. You see, America has freedom for a purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today? In Scripture, deliverance means and freedom is never an end in itself. It is a liberation unto obedience, to worship, and to a covenantal relationship. God’s demand to Pharaoh was not freedom for freedom’s sake, but freedom so his people could identify with and belong to and serve him. Freedom that is not used to serve God will not endure. One of the founders actually echoed a similar warning. Thomas Jefferson wrote, Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever. 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. In this 250th anniversary year, we must ask the question, are we living by that purpose today as a nation? Lord, we thank you for the godly foundation and heritage of our state. Lord, we would return to an understanding of the freedom that you have granted to us, that freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. And I pray that our nation would return to that understanding of the purpose of the freedom that you have granted to us. We thank you, Father. By faith, we pray that we would return to that purpose. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
SPEAKER 16 :
Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to The Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at the Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for being with us on this Wednesday. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Also, you can have access to the Washington Stand and the Stand on the Word. All of that can be found on the Stand Firm app. So you can have Washington Watch, you can have the Washington Stand and Stand on the Word. So go to the App Store, get the Stand Firm app, and you’ll have access not only to those three things, but a lot of other tools. to help you be an informed and engaged citizen. By the way, for those of you in West Texas, particularly in Midland and Odessa, I want to invite you to join me tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, First Baptist Church of Midland, beginning at 630. You’ll have an opportunity to be a part of a live recording of This Week on Capitol Hill. This is my weekend program that I do with House Speaker Mike Johnson. He’ll be joining us by Zoom, along with a number of other guests. So, Make, if you live in the area, make plans to join us. That’s tomorrow night, First Baptist Church, Midland, Texas at 6.30 p.m. Our word for today comes from Joshua chapter one. Only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may prosper wherever you go. This is really the spiritual truth that binds the book of Joshua. strength and courage are not just needed to face opposition strength and courage are needed most of all to obey god if we obey him he promises to take care of the rest and route the opposition you might say oh obeying god is easy Is it? Is it easy to obey God at a time when God and His Word have been rejected by the culture? When those who seek to live by God’s transcendent truths are mocked and ridiculed because we live in an age that has rejected the concept of truth? God’s ways have always been at odds with the prevailing culture, but we are seeing that even more so today. It doesn’t take courage to say you’re a Christian. It takes courage to live according to God’s Word as a Christian. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. That’s BIBLE. to six seven seven four two all right joining me now for the washington stand panel is washington stands managing editor for broadcast casey harper and washington stand senior writer joshua arnold casey joshua thanks for joining me today thanks so much tony happy to be here All right, Casey, I’m going to I’m going to start off. You give Joshua a chance to warm up there. You’re already warmed up from the top of the program. Some Senate Republicans don’t appear to be on board with the leadership strategy of the very skinny budget reconciliation bill. What are we hearing?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, this is quite the mess that we’re in here. I mean, I’ll try to lay out simply. Leadership, they want to keep things simple to avoid complications and pass reconciliation quickly. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says, keep it simple, keep it skinny, very skinny. And remember, President Trump has given Republicans a public deadline of June 1st to pass reconciliation. But many Republicans, like Senator Ted Cruz and others, not just him, they want to address other things in this. They don’t wanted to be so skinny after all, I guess. Cruz has always heard issues about affordability. Ted Cruz has talked about giving money for NASA. John Kennedy wants to talk about elements of the Save America Act, which the president has said is a top priority. But now that that discussion is going, a lot of pro-lifers are saying, hey, if we’re going to open this can of worms, then we have a few priorities as well, especially since they feel pretty neglected by the administration so far this year.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I’ve actually had that conversation with the speaker. They want to get this through. So, I mean, we’re day 60 of the government shutdown. They want to get the government opened, the partial shutdown. They want to get the Department of Homeland Security fully funded and operational. And so they don’t want other issues because you’re right. If the door is cracked open and other issues are added to the reconciliation, the fact that The defunding of Planned Parenthood that went from 10 years to one year in the one big beautiful bill expires on, I think, July 4th of this year in just a couple of months. Pro-lifers are going to demand that that be attached to this reconciliation bill, too. So, Joshua, this I mean, when we’re talking about the life issues, there’s a lot at play here that pro-lifers are looking at. Talk about that.
SPEAKER 15 :
That’s right. As Casey mentioned, they’re trying to get this really skinny bill through their really skinny Senate and House majority. The only thing that won’t be skinny after this is Planned Parenthood’s budget. Now that it looks like they’re going to have their funding restored. There was a lot of celebration last summer about taking away that Planned Parenthood funding. But actually, it was quite a bit of compromise. Initially, the House sent over a bill to the Senate that would have defunded Planned Parenthood for 10 years. In the end, they only defunded Planned Parenthood for a single year. They took $700 million away. That did result in a number of Planned Parenthood centers closing. About 50 Planned Parenthood centers closed as a result of that. lapse in Medicaid funding. But the same question is back on the table again. And that little bit of compromise meant we didn’t kick the can very far down the road at all. And now pro-lifers are worried about Planned Parenthood funding. They’re worried about the chemical abortion issue, which is going into all the red states. And Planned Parenthood’s at the tip of the spear of that as well. And many of the same people are also worried about the transgender hormones that Planned Parenthood is also dispensing to minors as well.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, when you add all this up, in addition to what you just mentioned, there’s the Title X family planning. Those funds were initially taken from Planned Parenthood, but then there was a lawsuit, and then the Trump administration basically waved the white flag, and those funds have been restored to Planned Parenthood. Again, we talk about this a lot on the program. You mentioned it. Mifeprestone, the abortion drug, about 70 percent, 65 to 70 percent of abortions now are done through that drug. Planned Parenthood, while their clinics may have closed, have kind of followed a Amazon business type model where they’re they’re turning mailboxes into abortion delivery systems. So abortion rates have gone up in the country. And it’s all in large part because of the Trump administration keeping a Biden era policy that allows Mifeprestone to be sent without medical oversight into these pro-life states. It’s baffling to pro-lifers. And so that’s why I say they will be chomping at the bit. If anything else happens on reconciliation, they will want something pertaining to the protection of the unborn. All right. Speaking of that, there was we covered this the first part of the week on Monday in Louisiana, my home state. There were a couple of bills that were being put forth that would have really hurt the care pregnancy centers. What happened with those bills, Casey?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, so there was a hearing yesterday, House Health and Welfare Committee hearing, where both of those bills were essentially defeated, at least in the short term. One, the 611 bill, was voted down by a six to one margin, essentially putting it to rest, at least for now. And then the other was actually just pulled by the author before the debate because of all the pushback from people like yourself and others. And so this could be a temporary win, but it is certainly a win. And I’m sure you’re happy to see some folks in your home state having some common sense on this one.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I do want to thank all of our listeners in Louisiana who weighed in on that issue and Louisiana Right to Life and Louisiana Family Forum that were working on that issue. This just reminds us, Joshua, that we have to be vigilant. We can’t just assume we live in a conservative state, a red state, that everything’s going to be fine. The left, they never give up. They say they’re fighting for women in health care, but they aren’t supporting either one, are they?
SPEAKER 15 :
That’s right, Tony. Abortion is not health care. And furthermore, even the way these abortionists are now going about their practice is not even providing minimal protections for women. There’s been pro-life activists who have found that you can go on and order, mail order abortion pills online without any sort of verification of how pregnant you are and even that you are pregnant. You can have boyfriends, abusers, sex traffickers getting these pills online and then forcibly giving them to women. We’ve seen a number of cases of that happen already, and they’re being prosecuted in states like Texas and Louisiana. And that just shows that what these abortionists are really not after They’re not really after the safety of women. They’re not even after women’s rights, which they claim to be about. If they were for that, they’d be for the life of all the unborn girls who are being aborted every day across the country. No, they’re really only lining their own pockets through the deliberate expansion of abortion. Instead of safe, legal and rare, it’s become unsafe, illegal and as common as possible. And so that’s why there are attacks on these pro-life pregnancy resource centers. There’s almost 3,000 of them across the country. They’ve provided almost $500 million a year in medical resources to support women with vulnerable pregnancies. That’s why they’re attacking these centers, because they just want to make sure as many babies are aborted as possible.
SPEAKER 08 :
But that’s not all that they’re doing. I mean, we saw in the report that was released yesterday, the Department of Justice report, how the Biden administration actually teamed up with these pro-abortion organizations, weaponizing the FACE Act, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, to target pro-lifers. I mean, there appears to be no end to this.
SPEAKER 15 :
That’s right. And it’s really no surprise, sadly, that we saw this from the Biden administration. We’ve already seen exposed how the Biden administration colluded with school boards to target parents. They targeted Catholics. They colluded with WPATH, a transgender activist organization, to put their thumb on the scale of so-called medical recommendations about what treatments were safe with kids. And now we find out that the National Abortion Federation was essentially creating dossiers on pro-life activists for the Biden DOJ to target under the FACE Act. And what’s interesting about this is that a National Abortion Federation lawyer testified before Congress that they had no influence over who was prosecuted under the FACE Act. They were literally writing the memos of, yeah, here’s everything you need to know about this person. If they didn’t have any influence over this, Herodias didn’t have any influence over the death of John the Baptist. And so what we saw was a double standard from the Biden administration, where pro-life centers and especially churches were being attacked, firebombed, graffitied all over the place ever since the Dobbs decision was first leaked from about the middle of The spring of 2022, through the end of the Biden administration, churches came under tremendous attack. The Biden administration did very little. Instead, they were going after tooth and nail as many pro-lifers as they could. That double standard of justice violates the biblical principles. It says, woe to those who acquit the guilty and deny the innocent of their right.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, you certainly weren’t dancing around on that issue. Let me go, Casey, to you, kind of following up with what Joshua said there about this is my take on this. There’s a correlation, I believe. FRC has been documenting these attacks on churches and care pregnancy centers over the last six years or so, six, seven years. It’s our hostility against churches report. We can see it’s almost as if teaming up with the Biden administration, these pro-abortion organizations colluded together to basically declare open season on Bible proclaiming churches and those ministries helping women that are dealing with crisis pregnancies.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, that’s absolutely right. And I think the point Joshua made about school boards being terror groups really just puts a fine point and a label on how they see conservative Christians, Bible-believing pro-lifers, they see them as an existential threat to this sort of postmodern liberal order that they want to impose. And we’re not just speculating there. That FRC report you mentioned, In 2024, it found that there were more than 400 attacks on churches and pregnancy centers. And that’s part of a trend and a growing trend. There’s been 1,400 acts of hostility against U.S. churches that have taken place since the beginning of 2018. And we’re not just talking like some graffiti on the side of a building, although, of course, that’s bad. We’re talking arson, bomb threats, gun-related incidents, all kinds of crimes. And so this is not just speculation. This is not… just making something out of nothing. And a couple other things really quickly is it’s troubling to see the politicization of the DOJ. We saw persecution of Trump. We’ve seen sanctuary cities. We’re seeing going after pro-lifers, calling parents terrorists, because people have really lost faith in law enforcement, which is really destigmatizing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. And we don’t want to see it to go the other way. We want justice for all. We want justice to be blind. But we have a couple minutes left. I want to ask both of you, what’s the intent? This hostility toward churches, this environment that intimidates, what are they trying to do? What’s their goal? I have an answer, but I want to hear what you think.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I’ll jump in here. I don’t know if I’ll have the… tony’s answer here but it’s maybe it’ll be a b plus the question is who’s the they because our battle is not against flesh and blood so if you ask who what are the humans goal here i think their goal is they’re angry they want to intimidate they see themselves as better than christians that christians are kind of old school and traditional and not up with the future but if if you go a level deeper and you say the real war is not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities i think that there is a real coordinated campaign of darkness to intimidate the church, to keep them silent, to keep them quiet. And that’s why the verse that you read at the beginning of this segment, Joshua, out of Joshua chapter 1, is so important. It’s one of my favorite verses. And it’s really a clarion call to Christians in these days, and as I believe we’re in the last days, to be strong and courageous. Because, Tony, it’s only going to get worse from here. I don’t think that, you know, the next few elections are going to, God willing, it would, but usher in some new era of tolerance towards Christians unless we have a real revival.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s not a B answer. That’s an A-plus answer. But Josh, go ahead. See if you can get an A-plus-plus.
SPEAKER 15 :
Sure. I think I would add to that that they want to force Christianity out of American public life. These are radical secularists committed to their rebellion against God on every level. And so when Christians live out our faith in the public square— It offends them. It disturbs them because it pricks their consciences and shows them that what they want to do is actually wrong. So like 1 Peter writes, as Peter writes in 1 Peter, they see your good deeds and they malign you because what we’re doing is we’re following our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They don’t like that. They want to put it in a box where they can’t see it anymore.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, both of you get a gold star for it. Because it’s spot on. It’s spot on. Because this is a spiritual battle. And as I wrap up this program, I go to what you said, Casey, in Ephesians, where we often talk about in this program, we battle against foes. we don’t battle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of darkness. And so we’ve got to pray and stand with the Word of God. Folks, keep praying and keep standing.
SPEAKER 18 :
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.
