The Washington Stand’s Casey Harper highlights the National Day of Prayer, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trip to Rome, and offers an update on the Hantavirus. Randy Fine, U.S. Representative for Florida’s 6th District, reviews the U.S. proposal
SPEAKER 10 :
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 23 :
We are a praying nation. We always have been. It truly is part of who we are. We know that prayer is where the impossible happens. We know it’s where we find solace and stay anchored in our faith, even through challenges and even through the storms. And that is indeed how we have endured.
SPEAKER 11 :
That was House Speaker Mike Johnson at the 75th National Day of Prayer this morning at the U.S. Capitol. A reminder that we are a praying nation. We always have been. Welcome to this Thursday, May 7th edition of Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. I’m your host, Tony Perkins. Well, coming up, President Donald Trump’s peace proposal with Iran awaits a response from the regime in Tehran. Florida Congressman Randy Fine joins us to discuss that proposal, as well as the global rise of anti-Semitism. Plus, the Supreme Court’s decision to limit the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has sparked a new wave of redistricting efforts nationwide. Just hours ago, lawmakers in Tennessee approved a new congressional map for that state that turns all nine of the state’s congressional districts red. The Tennessee House Speaker, Cameron Sexton, will join us. And later, Equal Opportunity Employment Commission Chair Andrea Lucas will give us an update on the agency’s lawsuit against the New York Times over its DEI practices. All of this and more coming up on Washington Watch. Well, as we mentioned earlier today, we mark the 75th National Day of Prayer, which comes as America celebrates its 250th anniversary. Joining me now to discuss this, Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper. Casey, tell us more about the event.
SPEAKER 06 :
Sure, Tony. Well, the National Day of Prayer event was held on Capitol Hill, where pastors and believers gathered to pray for America and the world. In fact, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner both spoke at that event. And we have a clip here from the secretary.
SPEAKER 19 :
Prayer is very powerful because Almighty God is powerful. And that truth has guided our great nation through mountaintops and valleys for the past 250 years. Our founding fathers were men of faith who understood that God is the cornerstone of our republic. And all of us here, because we recognize that truth as well, and we know that God’s power impacts both the lives of individuals and the destiny of our entire country.
SPEAKER 06 :
Great words from the Secretary. And the theme of this year’s National Day of Prayer was Glorify God Among the Nations, Seeking Him in All Generations. It’s a prayer of thanksgiving by King David, inspired the theme. The prayer is found in 1 Chronicles chapter 16 after the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. Tony.
SPEAKER 11 :
It was indeed a good event. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking of church, he was in Rome with the Pope today amid some recent tensions between President Trump and the pontiff. How did that meeting go, Casey?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it seems like nobody came to blows. It all was cordial, which is something people were watching, given the recent tensions between the Trump administration and the Pope. Secretary Rubio and Pope Leo committed to improving their relationships, which I said have been strained. Now, Rubio spent two and a half hours at the Vatican, where he also met with senior Vatican officials. They exchanged gifts. But this meeting comes after President Trump has been critical of the Pope, though the Pope has been critical of the president over his immigration policies and especially the war in Iran. Now, this meeting marks the first meeting between the Pope and a Trump cabinet official in close to a year.
SPEAKER 11 :
On other stories, international health officials are monitoring passengers who are aboard the cruise ship, Hundys, where a deadly hantavirus broke out. Casey, what’s the latest on that story?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so the World Health Organization said that five people connected to that cruise ship have been confirmed as having infections from the hantavirus, which is typically a rodent-borne virus. Now, according to the ship’s operator, since the first passenger got the virus and tragically died from it, over two dozen people from various countries have left that ship without contact tracing. Now, three passengers have died as a result of the outbreak, and others have been taken to the hospitals and being treated and monitored. But the WHO, the World Health Organization, known as WHO, have assessed the public risk as being pretty low here. In fact, we have a clip from an official earlier today.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is not coronavirus. This is a very different virus. We know this virus. Hanta viruses have been around for quite a while. There’s a lot of detail that we know. I’m going to ask Anais to come in and say this, but I want to be unequivocal here. This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship.
SPEAKER 06 :
We also know, Tony, that right now none of the passengers or crew who remain on the ship have any symptoms.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, if the WHO is saying it’s not bad, it must not be bad because they exploit every crisis. I guess just stay away from the cruise ships. All right, Casey, we’ll talk a little bit later. Thanks, Tony. I want to turn now to the situation with Iran, which has been, we’ve been reviewing the last U.S. proposal to end what President Trump calls a skirmish. Now, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, which has been a key mediator in the talks between the U.S. and Iran, said today that they expect an agreement sooner rather than later. Not sure what that means, but not surprisingly, he declined to give a timeline. Joining us now to give his assessment of the negotiations is Congressman Randy Fine, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the Judea and Samaria Caucus. He represents Florida’s 6th Congressional District. Congressman Fine, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. All right. Give us your take on the latest framework of a proposal that Iran is now reviewing.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, I think we continue to make progress. Look, what’s essential in any agreement is one simple fact. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And the deal points that I’ve seen say they would commit to not enrich uranium, and they would commit to give the enriched uranium that they have back. If we achieve that, this will be an unmitigated success for America and the world because it will make sure they do not have a nuclear weapon, which is what this has always been all about.
SPEAKER 11 :
I believe you’re right. That’s what the president said at the very beginning. And the president, even as late as yesterday, I heard his comments that unequivocal that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapons program. So, Congressman, I guess success at this point would be an agreement. And of course, it’s going to require verification as well, not just words on paper, but ensuring that they do not have a nuclear weapons program. And then two, the Strait of Hormuz, that has to be a part of the deal, too. I would imagine that there’s the freedom to go through that area without being molested by Iranian forces.
SPEAKER 14 :
Absolutely, but I think the issues in the Strait of Hormuz really surround this issue of a nuclear weapon. You know, stopping and ending and getting them to agree that they are going to stop trying to create a nuclear weapon, they’re going to stop trying to make the material that would go in a nuclear weapon, that’s a big deal. And then the rest of the world can work with us to make sure the Strait of Hormuz remains open. The United States does not get oil that comes out of the Strait of Hormuz. It’s the rest of the world, particularly China, that needs that Strait open so they can get the oil that they need. So once we’ve got what we need, which is no nuclear weapon in Iran, I think we’ll be able to count on the rest of the world to get the Strait open so commerce around the world can continue and go back to normal.
SPEAKER 11 :
In other regional developments, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon may be resuming next week here in Washington. This is quite significant. Your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s very significant because Israel and Lebanon have never had peace. Lebanon has never accepted the state of Israel, and getting them to do that, and frankly, them sitting down and talking to Israel directly is a tacit admission of that. The challenge is that Israel and the government of Lebanon have a common foe, and that is Hezbollah. So my ultimate hope is that Israel and Lebanon sign a deal that says they together from the North and the South will stop the Muslim terrorists that are destroying that country and attempting to destroy Israel. What folks need to understand is Lebanon used to be a Christian nation. It was only through occupation that that changed. And so we both have an incentive in making sure that these terrorists that sit in between Lebanon and Israel have nowhere to go. And that’s where I hope that this ends up.
SPEAKER 11 :
We wouldn’t even be having this conversation had the United States, the Trump administration, taken the action that it did against Iran. It’s only because Iran is in a weakened capacity and Hezbollah, which is basically an arm of Iran, has basically been cut off. They don’t have a supply coming from Iran, and that’s weakened them, and that’s set the stage for this, has it not?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, and look, they’re trying to wreak more havoc because havoc is really the only weapon that Iran has. They’ve been destroyed militarily, so now they’re sort of these guerrilla tactics. Close the Strait of Hormuz. try to use Hezbollah to stir up trouble in Israel, to activate protesters and things like that. These are all fringe activities from a rogue regime that’s really out of options. But the fact of the matter is Israel’s never going to allow Muslim terrorists to fire rockets indiscriminately into Israel, which is what Hezbollah has been doing for several months. But Hezbollah and the Lebanese government are not necessarily one and the same. And I think that is the issue that we need to exploit and get to a final solution on.
SPEAKER 11 :
Right. But to that point about Israel not allowing rockets to be fired into their country, we would not allow that to happen either. So, I mean, they’re certainly right in defending themselves and taking out these Hezbollah hotspots. We’ve got three minutes left. And before I let you go, Congressman Fine, I want to— ask you about this. I mean, we see a disturbing rise continuing of anti-Semitism both here in America and around the world. I mean, the UK’s prime minister declared anti-Semitism a crisis for all of us after a recent spat of violent attacks. Now, you’ve obviously been in one of Congress’s strongest voices on this issue. What’s behind this and how do we get a handle on it?
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, I think what people need to understand is anti-Semitism is the first step of anti-Westernism. They hate Jews, but they hate Christians too. They hate Western values. And Jews are simply seen as an easy target because there aren’t many of us. There are fewer Jews in this world than there are people who live in Beijing, China. But make no mistake, the people who are calling for damage to Jews, when they’re done with us, they’re coming for the Christian community. There’s a famous flag that they like to fly that says, today we come for the Saturday people, tomorrow we come for the Sunday people. And that’s something that everyone needs to keep in mind.
SPEAKER 11 :
It is. And history tells us that. This is not a theoretical statement. It is based on historical fact. Just a few years ago, when I was chairing the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, held a hearing on the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe at that time. And it’s only gotten worse. And, you know, one of the testimonies we heard from a historical perspective is that anti-Semitism is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to hostility and intolerance toward Orthodox religion.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, and now we see church after church after church in Europe somehow catching on fire. You know, again, first they come for the Jews, then they come for everyone else. So this is not just about anti-Semitism. I believe it’s about anti-Judeo-Christian Western civilization. That is the fight that we’re up against, and we’ve got to fight it hard every day.
SPEAKER 11 :
And I think part of it is coming together as Christians and as Jews in this country to stand together to say we won’t tolerate it. But it’s also making sure that we have a government that prosecutes those types of crimes to the full extent of the law. Congressman Randy Fine, always great to see you. Thanks so much for taking time to join us on this Thursday. Thanks for having me. All right. Congressman Randy Fine of Florida, also a member of the Judea, Samaria-Judea Caucus, which we helped start in the Congress. That is focusing on, in fact, you’re going to hear more about this in the days ahead. Judea and Samaria, that’s the land that the international community wants to give away. That’s part of the so-called two-state solution. But it’s where 80% of what we read about in the Bible took place. Coming up next, we’re going to have the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. When the representatives join us to talk about their new congressional map.
SPEAKER 04 :
The book of Proverbs says that for a godly mother, her children will rise up and call her blessed.
SPEAKER 17 :
And with great pride, her husband will praise her, saying, Many women have done excellently, but you surpassed them all. Family Research Council wishes moms across America a happy Mother’s Day.
SPEAKER 03 :
May our nation be blessed because of godly mothers who love their families by feeling the Lord.
SPEAKER 22 :
Join us for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action at this year’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. Hear from Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials as we work together to build a foundation based on biblical truth. Early Bird special tickets are on sale for $69 when you register by June 15th. To register, visit PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org.
SPEAKER 20 :
I think all people really need to have this type of education.
SPEAKER 24 :
Well, I can tell you that it’s been an amazing course, period.
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I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we’re doing with our families and with our work.
SPEAKER 17 :
God and Government is a video-driven, Bible-based training course from Family Research Council that explores the connection between 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 24 :
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 01 :
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 18 :
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 13 :
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 15 :
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 17 :
View the course at frc.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
SPEAKER 11 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in and joining us on this Thursday. All right, coming up, Prevost Stand is just around the corner. We’ve opened up registration. I invite you to join us this fall. The summit will be held September the 24th through the 26th at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, just outside of our nation’s capital, right outside the Beltway here in D.C., As America marks its 250th anniversary, this powerful gathering will bring together Christian leaders, issue experts, and believers from across the country for a time of prayer, encouragement, and preparation for action. So register today and get a summit pass for $69. That’s a savings of $50 with the early bird discount. The special rate is available through June the 15th. So hurry, learn more, and register at PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org. Well, earlier today, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a new congressional map that turned all nine of the state’s congressional districts into red. The action came after Governor Bill Lee called the legislature into a special session following last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on racial gerrymandering. Louisiana is also redrawing its districts. South Carolina is considering it. Could be very interesting. Joining us now to discuss this is Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton. He serves Tennessee’s 25th House District. Speaker Sexton, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, sir. Thank you for having me. I’m on my way back to Crossville after a good session.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, it was a quick special session, but it appears to have been very productive. So let’s talk about now what the makeup of Tennessee looks like with the redrawing of these lines.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. So currently we’re eight to one Republican and Democrats. Hopefully with the new maps, we’re going to be nine to zero here very soon. And we feel very comfortable. We based it on population and politics. And so we feel pretty good about where we finished this week.
SPEAKER 11 :
How will that affect the other districts? I know that this is basically the Memphis district. It was kind of divided out into three other Republican districts. Does this kind of How will it affect those other Republican districts? Will they become squishy, more moderate? How will they look?
SPEAKER 08 :
No, we still feel comfortable about where they’re at on their Republican values. And, you know, the one thing that we have, we’ve become more red over the years. So we feel very comfortable. Even the ninth district, which was a plus 23 Democrat district, we feel like that we made that a winnable district. And so, you know, as long as Republicans turn out to vote this election, we feel really good about where we’re at.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, the vote looked like it was overwhelming. How strong was the opposition to this?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, the opposition wasn’t what was the strongest. The opposition was the violent protesters that were there that were the most aggressive, vile protesters that we’ve ever had, as well as the chaos that the Democratic caucus tried to cause on the House floor. But we’ve gone through that before. We powered through it. We passed it out. And now it’s law because I think the governor’s probably about ready to sign it here in the next 30 minutes.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, the congressman that represents that nine district, Steve Cohen, has said he will file suit. What do you expect to happen now?
SPEAKER 08 :
I expect nothing else of liberals than to file suit against conservative states. We’ve been sued by the ACLU more than any other state. So I think we’re actually progressing and moving in the right direction for conservatism and for Tennessee and for America. And so they’re going to file suit. I feel comfortable that we’re going to win it in the long term. And then the maps will be upheld at some point.
SPEAKER 11 :
Will that happen before the primary season and before the fall’s midterm, or how quickly do you think that will happen?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, we’ll see. It’ll be based on the initial judge indication, and we’re hopeful that we can win in the short term. But, you know, sometimes in these blue cities where they file these lawsuits, you get a very liberal, woke judge, and they won’t even look at the rule of law. They’ll just make a determination for political purposes. And so we’re prepared to handle that if that happens, but we’re prepared for the long haul of this as well.
SPEAKER 11 :
Before I let you go, Speaker Saxon, your governor, Bill Lee, recently signed legislation formally designating June, just around the corner, Nuclear Family Month in Tennessee. Now, the resolution defines family as one husband, one wife, and their biological or adopted or foster children, calling it God’s design and the bedrock of society. You talk about Tennessee trending red, that’s a pretty bold but defendable statement.
SPEAKER 08 :
It very much is. What we do know with society is what happens with broken families, policies that keep families apart. Look, our social system of food stamps, healthcare, and everything is designed for people to not get married, to remain single. It penalizes you for being a nuclear family. We want to recognize the importance of the nuclear family and then try to right the ship and make policies based on a two-parent family staying intact. That’s what’s best for Tennessee, best for America. And that’s really what God really wants us to do as well.
SPEAKER 11 :
And that should be the standard that we work toward. Doesn’t mean that there are outliers and that we consider them, but our policy should be made for what is best. I remember traveling to Tennessee many years ago when I was in the Louisiana legislature after I passed the nation’s first covenant marriage law. Tennessee was entertaining that. It didn’t happen at that time. But it’s good because there was a lot of Democrats involved. back 25 years ago, but it’s encouraging to see bold statements for the family and not shrinking back because of the, well, like you described, the protests outside. We cannot allow a few loud voices to try and squelch the truth.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s right. They try to bully you. They try to beat you in submission. They don’t want you to talk the truth. They don’t want you to express yourself. They don’t want you sharing your opinion. They want to scare you from from doing all that. And Tennessee, we’re standing up against it. That’s what we’re doing. The Democrat Party that you mentioned 25 years ago is not the Democrat Party today. They are nowhere near what it was. That’s why we’ve had so many people that now have declared themselves to be Democrats. conservative Republicans because they look at the Democrat Party and it left them a long time ago. And the Republican Party has been built on freedom, hope, prosperity, family, freedom. And that’s what they’re looking for. And that’s what we’re giving them here in Tennessee.
SPEAKER 11 :
Speaker Sexton, before we let you go, just a minute left. What’s on the horizon? What what other big ideas is Tennessee going to pursue?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, we’re still working through it. You know, I mean, we had a great session this year on illegal immigration, making sure that public benefits are for those who are here legally and lawfully, working with the Trump administration on public safety and illegal immigration, making sure we’re putting policies in place, also protecting families, trying to put families together, not tear them apart, and improve education in our state. I think it’s been a great year.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right. Speaker Sexton, I want to thank you for joining us. Congratulations on a good session, and thank you for standing up for the family.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right. You know, it is encouraging to see how states that are trending red are getting bolder, and that’s what we need. We need to be bold in our convictions, bold in our faith. Of course, there’s got to be… It’s got to stand on the word. It’s got to be based on truth. But we need to be bold and confident and courageous. All right, coming up next, we’re going to talk to the chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. So don’t go away.
SPEAKER 20 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
One Nation Under God, America’s undeniable foundation of faith.
SPEAKER 12 :
The United States Capitol, an iconic symbol of the American Republic. But few know that this building at the heart of our nation’s government was once something more, the largest church building in America. Since its inception and for decades following, several rooms throughout the Capitol, including the House and Senate chambers, were used to host church services weekly. These services were filled with individuals from all levels of government. The attendance was so pervasive that often it was standing room only. Quote, going to the Capitol on Sundays was then one of the most common things in Washington. Margaret Bayard Smith. This practice was not merely accepted, but encouraged. Quote, I consider it as one of my public duties as a representative of the people to give my attendance every Sunday morning when divine service is performed in the hall. President John Quincy Adams. Housing worship at the center of our capital was a living representation of the role that biblical principles played as a cornerstone of our nation’s foundation of faith.
SPEAKER 11 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in and making us part of your day. Well, some big news here. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that’s the EEOC, is taking direct aim at one of America’s most influential news organizations, the New York Times. Now, this week, the commission filed suit against the Times for engaging in race and sex discrimination through its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Now, That doesn’t sound like anything different than what we’ve seen in the past, but there’s something very different about this case. Joining us now in studio to discuss this is Andrea Lucas, who is the chair of the EEOC. Chair Lucas, thanks for joining us here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 21 :
Thank you so much for having me. It’s a pleasure.
SPEAKER 11 :
So, you know, that narrative is not that new about the EEOC taking action against corporations. Of course, it is against anti-DEI. But there’s something even more significant about this case. Tell us about it.
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, the case is on behalf of a white male employee. And it’s the first case that the commission has brought on behalf of a white male employee for race and sex discrimination in 10 years.
SPEAKER 11 :
So is he the only guy in America that has ever faced discrimination because he was a white guy?
SPEAKER 21 :
Of course not. And, you know, the commission’s recovered millions of dollars for these types of individuals over the last 10 years, but we’ve typically just done it in the silence. In the confidential proceedings, we’ve never brought a lawsuit, which sends a message that, sorry, we’re not welcome. We’re not actually protecting the law on your behalf.
SPEAKER 11 :
So that would suggest that the EEOC is actually doing equal opportunity in terms of employment for all people.
SPEAKER 21 :
Yes, we’re saying it doesn’t matter how powerful or how prestigious or big the company is, and it doesn’t matter what your skin color is or your sex, we’re here to fight on your behalf, and we’re not picking favorites.
SPEAKER 11 :
That sounds like something different than what we’ve seen in the past from the EEOC.
SPEAKER 21 :
This is a 180 degree turn from the Biden administration. We are absolutely laser focused on being an executive branch agency, fully in alignment with the administration’s priorities because the president was elected and we’re here to carry out what the American people put us in office to do.
SPEAKER 11 :
Chair Lucas, you’ve also been involved in a number of cases because I know personally in some pastors that I’ve made recommendations to to reach out to the EOC, religious persecution or religious discrimination. You’ve been involved in those cases as well.
SPEAKER 21 :
Absolutely. We’re extremely proud. We’re going to be announcing this later today. Since January of 25, we’ve recovered $50 million for religious workers who have experienced discrimination in employment. That’s the highest the commission’s ever recovered in decades. We’re getting record recoveries for religious workers.
SPEAKER 11 :
So is that message starting to filter out through, you know, the business corporate community that that type of behavior is no longer going to be tolerated?
SPEAKER 21 :
I certainly hope so, and this is a great opportunity to just continue to emphasize that your enforcement risk has radically shifted. No longer are religious rights going to be a second-class right. They’re a first freedom, and we’re going to enforce the law.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, I want to shift gears a little bit, Chair Lucas, from the standpoint of, you know, Congress looks at these commissions and usually the conservatives in Congress do not look too favorably upon them because they’re usually meddling in things they shouldn’t be or not doing good things. In this case, you are running this commission. And as you just laid out here, we’re actually seeing outcomes, results that are in line with the agenda of the president.
SPEAKER 21 :
Yep. I’d say to Congress, judge us by our actions, not just our words. But words matter, right? Leadership, we’ve been clear about what we are delivering on. But also, we’re bearing fruit in those promises. We are delivering record results for religious workers. We are attacking DEI, race, and sex discrimination. We are defending women’s rights for single-sex spaces. At every single turn, it’s starting to really bear fruit. And so I would, you know, urge everyone to take a look at what the EEOC has been doing lately.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, you’ve got a couple vacancies on the commission, and it is a bipartisan commission. You have Democrats, you have Republicans. What’s your biggest challenge?
SPEAKER 21 :
You know, we’re short staffed and we’re so we are working very hard to deliver these big wins. But it’s worth it. And, you know, while I welcome bipartisanship, I am in charge. I am the chair. The chair has substantial amounts of power to set the enforcement priorities and to follow what the president has charged me with to do. And so from top to bottom, we are working to reform the agency and turn it in every single way 180 degrees.
SPEAKER 11 :
So what’s the current makeup of the commission?
SPEAKER 21 :
The commission is currently 2-1, two Republicans and one Democrat.
SPEAKER 11 :
So I guess the meetings, I guess, can be a little contingent, kind of like those Baptist church meetings?
SPEAKER 21 :
There are strong opinions, and I respect healthy debate, but again, we’re an executive branch agency. That means that our goal is to carry out what the executive has charged us with, and that’s the president.
SPEAKER 11 :
So what’s on the horizon? What else can we be looking for coming out of the EEOC?
SPEAKER 21 :
It’s going to be an exciting May. You know, again, you just expect more, more, more, more. You’re going to get tired of winning. This is going to be a very exciting month.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, my hope is what I see from a lot of this administration, changes, significant needed changes, but putting in place things that can ensure that they outlast this administration. Do you see that from the EOC perspective? Are there things that can be done that will stay in place even when another administration comes through?
SPEAKER 21 :
Yes, this is a generational opportunity to reset civil rights back to founding principles that civil rights are for everyone, for all workers, not just certain groups, to have even-handed enforcement. And we’re both making sure that our enforcement priorities are consistent with that, but also structurally reforming our regulations, our policies, our internal procedures from top to bottom to make sure that that’s a lasting change.
SPEAKER 11 :
Just about 30 seconds left, but I’d like to ask a lot of our guests, especially in key roles like yours, how can we pray for you?
SPEAKER 21 :
Pray for strength and endurance. We are absolutely going to be working in a marathon sprint pace this month, and so I welcome people’s prayers for endurance.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, we will, because we’re commanded in Scripture to pray for those in authority that lead us, that we might have peaceable lives. So we’ll be praying for you. Thank you for joining us. Appreciate the work you’re doing. Thank you so much. All right, folks, don’t go away because we’ve got more Washington Watch on the other side of the break. We’ll be joined by our Washington Stand panel as we take a look back on the week of what’s happening and what’s going to be happening next week. Also, I want to remind you, registration for the PrayVote Stand Summit is open. Go to PrayVoteStand.org and join us. Don’t go away. We’ll be right back.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is Mission Control Houston here in the Artemis flight control room. Splashdown confirmed at 7.07 p.m. Central Time. A new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbor is complete. Integrity’s astronauts, back on Earth. when I got back on the ship.
SPEAKER 16 :
I’m not really a religious person, but there was just no other avenue for me to explain anything or to experience anything. So I asked for the chaplain on the Navy ship to just come visit us for a minute. And when that man walked in, I’d never met him before in my life, but I saw the cross on his collar and I just, I broke down in tears. It’s very hard to fully grasp what we just went through. And when the sun eclipsed behind the moon, I think all four of us, I turned to Victor and I said, I don’t think humanity has evolved to the point of being able to comprehend what we’re looking at right now, because it was otherworldly, it was amazing.
SPEAKER 17 :
That was Commander Reid Wiseman of the Artemis II mission, reflecting on their journey around the moon. So here’s a question. Does that sound like a man that just entered space, an empty, cold vacuum of nothingness? Or did he encounter something so profound, so full, so warm and bursting with life, it’s almost as if someone was breathing on it? Perhaps it was so meaningful that the word space doesn’t do the journey justice. Well, it sounds like he didn’t encounter space, but something else, what the Bible calls the heavens. As the psalmist says, the heavens declare the glory of God and continually pours out speech. And that speech just might leave you speechless if you’re seeking it. It seems like Commander Wiseman discovered the truth of Psalm 139 in reality. Where shall I go from your spirit, or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven and orbit the moon, you are there. So here’s the glorious news for Commander Wiseman and all of humanity. The heavens aren’t far from any one of us. In fact, the Christian story proclaims that the one who sits in the heavens didn’t stay there. He came down into our broken world, forsaking heaven’s treasure to make you His treasure. And something truly incomprehensible happened the day He died, when the one who stretched out the heavens like a curtain stretched out His hands for us on the cross. But it was impossible for death to keep its hold on life itself. He rose from the grave, he lives, and every sunrise since reminds us that the darkness of night will never eclipse the light behind all light, Jesus, the light of the world. Family Research Council prays that families across America would look up and join the song of the heavens. Praise God in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his mighty deeds. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
SPEAKER 11 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in on this Thursday. Hey, by the way, I’d like to take a moment to welcome the newest Pray, Vote, Stand chapters that have joined our initiative. And our Pray, Vote, Stand chapters, they equip believers to engage locally, prayerfully and biblically. So a big warm welcome to our newest chapters, Marion County, Florida, Panama City, Beach, Florida, Midland County, Texas. In fact, this is our second one in Midland County, Texas, but this is a Mandarin language chapter. So if you speak Mandarin, that’s the chapter for you. To find out more about our local chapters or to start one, text the word CHAPTERS to 67742. That’s CHAPTERS to 67742. We just launched this a couple months ago. We now have over 50 chapters across the country. Our goal over the next 10 years is a chapter based in a church in every county in America. We believe this will start a national renewal, building from the ground up community by community. So text the word CHAPTERS to 67742 to find out more. Our word for today comes from Judges chapter 16. He told her all his heart and said to her, No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man. When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up at once, for he has told me all his heart. And she said, To him, the Philistines are upon you, Samson. So he awoke from his sleep and said, I will go out as before at other times and shake myself free. But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Cutting his hair was the final act in breaking the Nazarite vow. He surrendered his strength to a woman. I believe the author of Proverbs in chapter 31 warns this, do not give your strength to women nor your ways to that which destroys kings. Blinded by unbridled passion, Samson became captive to what he was empowered to conquer. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742. All right, a lot’s happened this week. As we mentioned earlier in the program, today is the National Day of Prayer. Given the state of our nation and our culture, that’s something we need to be doing every day, not just one day a year. It’s also been a pivotal week politically. Voters headed to the polls in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan in the first wave of primary elections. What do those results signal about the road to the November’s midterms? Well, we’ll talk about that. At the same time, redistricting is back in the spotlight following last week’s Supreme Court ruling striking down Louisiana’s race-based congressional map. Lawmakers are once again redrawing district lines. So how could this reshape the political landscape going into the midterm election? Joining us now to talk about all of this is our Washington Stand panel, Suzanne Bowdy, Editorial Director and Senior Writer, and Casey Harper, Managing Editor of the broadcast. Suzanne, Casey, thanks for joining me. Thanks, Tony. All right. All right. Let’s start, Casey, with you. The primary election results. What do we read from those political tea leaves?
SPEAKER 06 :
Sure. I mean, you’re always sort of it’s an occupational hazard to try to forecast right to November elections. Yeah, I agree. Yes. But what we can say is Republicans showed up. They had a strong showing.
SPEAKER 11 :
Which is important because we’ve been hearing all this about enthusiasm. So it appears that the Republicans are holding their own.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I think that’s true. And there’s the natural nervousness that comes in a midterm election when one president of one party is in power, that his midterms, often they don’t do well. Barack Obama lost big time in the Tea Party. So that’s something to keep an eye on. In Ohio, Sherrod Brown. is, I think, a very strong candidate to watch out for. Ohio has moved to the right in the last 20 years, but they have a strong Democrat there. There’s going to be a lot of money in that race. And then one more thing that’s really interesting. I think that President Trump and the D.C. Republican establishment sent a message in this election, which was basically, fall in line on redistricting, or we might pour a million dollars into a race against you, or at the very least withhold money. And so as this redistricting war continues, there’s a pretty strong message sent in Indiana.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. I mean, when you look at a state race and you’ve got a million dollars against you in those races, you know, I don’t know what they cost today, but they don’t cost a million dollars. So it is. But it’ll be interesting to see what happens after the midterm. I’ve heard a lot of people saying this is Donald Trump’s Republican Party. Will it stay that way? You know, will he, as many presidents, become kind of a lame duck or will he maintain power?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, he has remade the party in his own image in some way, but the blessing of that is he’s maintained a lot of power for himself and control. Anytime anyone has stepped out of alignment with him, he’s been able to cast them aside. I mean, there’s a long list of people. The latest is Tucker Carlson. I mean, Tucker Carlson was thought of as like a right-hand prophet for President Trump, and now he’s gone against the president and is not MAGA anymore. His unpopularity has risen. So at least for now, President Trump controls the party. But in a year or two, I think it’s going to be up for grabs. I think the Sharks are
SPEAKER 11 :
trying to eat the sharks in the water there’s blood in the water politically and people are trying to carry that MAGA legacy but right now no one there’s no torchbearer but there’s got to be eventually now there was another message that was came across pretty clearly from voters and that was in the economy economic issues matter I think that’s where the Republicans may have some difficulty if the the the war which I support what the president has done but the The side effects of that, the higher cost of gasoline, could be a problem if it’s not ended soon.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s why I’m very confused as the Republican strategy here. You mentioned the advertising budget. Just in Indiana, we’re talking about $13 million for state legislature. If I’m a GOP strategist, I’m saying save that money and put it into the House races so that Trump isn’t a lame duck.
SPEAKER 11 :
That is an issue that a lot of people are bringing up, but it’s driven by what others say is revenge.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s an expensive revenge.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, let me give you another example in my home state of Louisiana, where you have a sitting Republican senator, Bill Cassidy, who is the chair of the HELP Committee, which we’ve had on the program because he’d been leading the effort to end the abortion pill. Trump is supporting and putting money in to the campaign of another Republican to run against him because Cassidy voted in the impeachment to uphold the impeachment on him. So there is a safe Republican seat that we’re spending literally going to spend millions of dollars for. Same thing in Texas where we could go after these marginal seats or defend seats that were actually in trouble. Because there are some that are speculating the Republicans, it would be hard for them to lose the Senate.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s possible. It’s possible.
SPEAKER 11 :
It would be hard. They’d have to work at it. But they could lose the conservative majority because they’ve only got 53 seats. They could lose that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. To me, it makes no sense to attack your own. As you’re saying, we need to put the Democrats on the defensive, the leftists, the liberals that are bringing this awful agenda to us.
SPEAKER 11 :
But can you imagine what you could do with $8 million? A lot. I mean, you could do a lot with that. And the Speaker’s out raising record numbers of money, but it’s like there’s a hole in his bucket because we’re doing these things here that really don’t make a whole lot of sense.
SPEAKER 06 :
And what message does this send to the donors, too? I mean, if I’m a donor, a big-ticket donor, I’m thinking, well, how are you going to spend this money? Is this money going to go to primary, a pro-life conservative Republican in a southern state?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I think that’s a part of it. There’s still a big divide within the Republican donor base. You know, these are some of these mega donors, big pocket business guys who are, you know, it’s nothing to drop. And a lot of this is money being dropped into these PACs, independent expenditures that are being done. You know, we’re thinking of it as we would approach it as a biblically, ideologically driven voter. Stewardship. That our money is only going to back a vote that we support someone who is aligned with us. That’s not unfortunately the way the party works. It was moving in that direction, but as you talked about the president remaking the party in his image, we’ve kind of lost that grip on that ideological core of conservatism.
SPEAKER 06 :
Has the president had this much power over how donor money is spent before this time? I mean, I think he exercises a lot of power over the RNC in a way that I haven’t seen.
SPEAKER 11 :
I mean, every president exerted influence. But you have other, you know, court decisions in the last decade or so that have allowed the growth of these independent expenditures and PACs, these super PACs, which are a relatively new part of political campaigns. And that’s where millions and millions and millions of dollars are being dropped into.
SPEAKER 06 :
He’s raised a lot of that money himself with his connections, but that’s come with the strings attached of getting money from people who are not conservatives. They’re getting a lot of money from people who are not even close to conservative, and that comes with consequences.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, and that goes back to the remaking of the party as we go back to the party platform that is essentially just an eraser board. And you write on what you want to for the day, because there’s nothing really fixed in that party platform. So that’s, you know, it’s okay if you’ve got somebody that’s doing the right thing, but there’s no ideological anchor or accountability to that. So it’s going to be… You know, it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens post-midterm election and into the next presidential cycle. Speaking of that, the redistricting battle.
SPEAKER 05 :
Which is very tied to midterms.
SPEAKER 11 :
Very tied to midterms. And it’s going to be, you know, it was given new life last week by the Supreme Court. Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina is looking at it. This could be the difference maker.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, they were really in a tie on this redistricting battle for the most part. Texas got some big gains for Republicans. California did for Democrats. And, you know, it was a horse race. But then two things have happened. One, the Supreme Court case on the voting rights act, which has opened the floodgates to mix the metaphors for Republicans to go get a lot more votes. But I think something people aren’t talking about enough is Democrats are in a lot of trouble in Virginia. If you follow the court case against their redistricting there, there’s a good chance they could lose those four extra seats. And at that point, Republicans could be up by 10 seats on the gerrymandering battle.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, I think Louisiana is going to go to they have a six congressional districts right now. They have four and two. They’re going to go back to a five one, which I think is smart because South Carolina is actually looking similar to what Tennessee is looking at. Tennessee is looking at flipping all of their districts to red. which means some of them are actually gonna be purple. You can’t absorb all of that, and that’s gonna create some moderate Republican districts, which might be good going into the election, but are gonna be a headache on the other side of the election.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I’m curious what you think I think people are putting a lot of stock in the redistricting before the midterm elections. Yes, I think what the Supreme Court did was important. Yes, I think that we need to get back to districting in a more fair way, drawing maps in a more fair way. But a lot of this is going to be litigated. This isn’t going to be a quick fix. I don’t think I mean Republicans in the best scenario if they could pick up 10 to 12 seats. Great. But will that still be enough to overcome the mood of the country right now. I’m not sure. I just everybody’s getting all wrapped up in redistricting and I think you still have to go out and win elections regardless of what the lines are. Right.
SPEAKER 11 :
So I do think that what we saw this past Tuesday, while it being minuscule in the big picture of things, it did show that the Republicans are holding their own, that even in the midst of what would be a perfect storm for Democrats, the rise in gas prices, the unpopular war, that voters are still turning out on the Republican side. If they can get these issues behind them, I do think the Republicans have a much better much better landscape for the midterm election.
SPEAKER 05 :
And seven months is a long time in politics. It is. A day is a lifetime.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, we just have about three minutes left. I want to go to something else that we’ve been working on that’s going to be back before the Supreme Court, the abortion issue. It just does not go away. And I don’t think it will until we get it right. The court did do it the right way. But then the Biden administration put in place this policy on Mifeprestone, which was decades in the making to accelerate abortion, chemical abortions. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has kept that policy in place. Abortion rates have gone up. Louisiana has sued the FDA because their laws are being undermined. That’s before the Supreme Court.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. And I’m very grateful. Louisiana has been really busy in the Supreme Court lately, but I’m very grateful for that. I’m pulling all the strings. You are, apparently. But yes, this is a matter that should go to the Supreme Court. And Louisiana, I know there’s been a lot of talk about whether or not they have standing. But I mean, if you look at some of the cases of the women, not just in Louisiana, although that’s helpful for this case, but around the world who’ve been harmed by this drug, I mean, we’re looking at an 11 percent serious adverse event rate for a drug that I would argue shouldn’t even be on the market. We keep waiting for the Trump administration to review this drug. We’re still waiting on that. Last week and last month, Senator Hawley started to bring up some of the really concerning aspects of the biggest drug manufacturer, which is Danko. reminding people and asking the DOJ to investigate because this this big abortion drug manufacturer literally is operating in secret without transparency. We don’t know who their board of directors are. We don’t know who their investors are. We don’t even know where they’re located because it’s a P.O. box. So how can we ask them to comply with regulations. How do we know that they’re marketing fairly and accurately. There’s no enforcement of the law. If we can’t even get these people to talk to
SPEAKER 11 :
Their history is even very sketchy, is that they were a part of what I would call the deep state because there was collaboration with the federal government in helping set up this entity to be the manufacturer and distributor of this pill.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and the people who got the abortion pill first approved in the U.S. was a population control group.
SPEAKER 11 :
And now, I don’t know if it’s one of the, it’s not Danco, it’s one of the others.
SPEAKER 05 :
GenBioPro or Vita.
SPEAKER 11 :
One of those is actually behind the international distribution, really pushing this through the UN. In fact, talking to Chris Smith recently about that, how Nigeria is being a target for that abortion pill. I mean, it’s this this is a moment the court could this could be a huge decision by the court if they what they would do is put the stay in place that came from the Fifth Circuit that says the policy has to go back to what it was while it’s being litigated for the state of Louisiana to prove that it has been harmed, which the Fifth Circuit said there’s a high probability that Louisiana will be able to do.
SPEAKER 05 :
And that would save lives. I mean, we’re talking about a court hold that would save lives.
SPEAKER 11 :
I think it could, over a course of a year, cut the abortion rate by a third in this country, at least. That’s how significant it is. Casey, Suzanne, thanks for joining me.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you, Tony.
SPEAKER 11 :
And folks, I want to thank you for joining us as well. I want to encourage you to be praying for all of these issues we talked about today. It is the National Day of Prayer, but pray that the court would get it right on this issue of life once again and the state would prevail. Until next time, keep standing.
SPEAKER 10 :
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.
