Join us as guest host Jody Heiss delves into the ongoing legislative debates gripping Washington D.C., including a detailed discussion on the contentious Save America Act with implications for voter ID requirements. We explore the nuances of Homeland Security leadership shifts with insights from key journalists. Discover how Japan’s recent diplomatic moves could alter dynamics in the Middle East, and engage with the broader conversation about identity and policy as court decisions affect Medicaid’s stance on gender-affirming surgeries.
SPEAKER 08 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 28 :
If Republicans want to waste the Senate’s time debating this bill, so be it. We will continue to debate it. That’s what the rules allow the senators and Senator Thune to do. We’ll continue, but we will continue to expose just how radical and ugly it is. That’s what Democrats will do.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer earlier today as the Senate went into another day of debate over the Save America Act. Welcome to this March 19th edition of Washington Watch. I’m your guest host today, Jody Heiss, filling in for Tony. Thank you so much for joining us. All right, coming up, we’ll discuss the ongoing debate over the Save America Act, as well as the battle over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. We’ll be joined here in just a few moments by Florida Congressman Randy Fine for that discussion. And President Trump has warned of imminent action against Cuba. How is the communist leadership there responding? Well, we’ll discuss this later when I’m joined by Washington’s stand reporter, Yoey Suarez, who was actually exiled from Cuba due to his investigative reporting. So all that and more is straight ahead. A debate in the Senate over the Save America Act continues for the third day now. The bill, which of course President Trump supports, among other things, would require citizens to show a valid photo ID when voting. And joining us now is Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper. Casey, thanks for joining us. What’s the latest on this one?
SPEAKER 26 :
Sure, thanks, Jody. Allies of President Donald Trump are really ramping up the pressure on their Republican colleagues to do whatever it takes to get this bill across the finish line. Now, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, he said the debate is an important exercise, but other Republican senators are criticizing the bill, saying it needs more work or it was drafted poorly, and it’s just frankly not going to pass. Now, we do have a clip here from Republican Senator Mike Lee, who is defending the bill from critics. Here it is.
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suggesting that 2021 million Americans will be disenfranchised if this becomes law. That is a lie. That is an absolute lie. It is just not true. To those peddling this lie, I strongly suggest, I implore you to check your crosstabs, verify your survey participants, do your homework, and more than anything, even if you don’t spend any time with the survey at all or inspect the methodology, read the bill.
SPEAKER 26 :
Well, strong words from the Senator Mike Lee, but President Donald Trump has had strong words as well. He’s made it clear, Jody, he’s not signing any bill until this one makes it to his desk.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it’s going to be interesting to watch. That is an extremely important bill, though, so a lot of attention going to it. Casey, President Trump’s pick for the Department of Homeland Security, Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, advanced to a vote now going before the full Senate, where there he’ll need a simple majority in order to be confirmed. How is this transpiring? What are you hearing? What are you anticipating happening as this moves forward? Sure.
SPEAKER 26 :
Well, we had that explosive hearing yesterday with Senator Mullen. And then this morning, in an eight to seven vote, he was advanced out of committee. Now, he got the votes of almost all Republicans, with the exception of Senator Rand Paul. And if you watched that hearing yesterday, you know why. They have a sort of a history between them. But a Democrat, Senator John Fetterman, actually saved the nomination of Mullen. He was the only Democrat to support him. Now we can expect a full vote on the Senate floor in the next few days. Now, as for really what Mullen has promised, at yesterday’s hearing, he did make clear he would approach things differently than his predecessor, Kristi Noem, who was ultimately fired by President Trump. And he said that DHS needs fundamental reforms, which will be music to the ears of Democrats. But, of course, the devil is in the details on that kind of thing, Jody.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, it certainly is. Thank you for that update. All right, one other thing real quickly, Casey. The Japanese prime minister visited President Trump today at the White House, and Trump said of it all that he really believes that Japan was really taking some very positive steps, stepping up to the plate as it relates to the Iran conflict. What do you know of that came of that meeting that caused the president to say that?
SPEAKER 26 :
Sure, Jody. I covered that meeting today. It was a very friendly one between the president and the Japanese prime minister. And a lot of the attention is on the Strait of Hormuz. We learned that Japan directly contacted the Iranian prime minister and told him to cut it out with their closing the Strait of Hormuz. And it’s hard – it’s easy to know why, because 90 percent of Japan’s oil actually comes through that strait. Now, the Japanese leader also told President Trump today that only he could achieve global peace. And she warned reporters that the global economy was going to take a hit because of all this turmoil. In fact, we have a clip from President Trump earlier today in that meeting.
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We’ve had tremendous support and relationship with Japan on everything. And I believe that based on statements that were given to us yesterday, the day before yesterday, having to do with Japan, they are really stepping up to the plate.
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Now, the Japanese prime minister is the first major ally to have face-to-face talks with President Trump after he demanded that Japan and other allies like NATO send ships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Now, at one point in the meeting, President Trump also made a joke about Pearl Harbor, which is one he can probably – probably only he can pull off, Jody.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I actually saw that, and it was a good one. And I agree with you. Only Trump could pull that off. Casey, thank you so much for these updates. We appreciate it very much. Hey, listen, speaking of updates, let me just give our Washington Watch family an update. Of course, we shared with you on Monday about Tony’s father, Richard Perkins, who was called home to be with the Lord at the age of 86. And now we’d like to invite you to tune in to the celebration of his life. It’ll be streamed on Tony’s Facebook page as well as at TonyPerkins.com. And that will take place tomorrow, Friday, at 1130 a.m. Central Time. Mark that, 1130 Central Time. And we’d love for you to join us as we celebrate the celebration. legacy of this wonderful man, devoted husband, a loving father, faithful friend to so many, and likewise, please, please keep the Perkins family in your prayers. I know they would appreciate a great deal you doing that. Thank you so much. All right. I want to go now to Capitol Hill to discuss the latest that’s happening there. And joining us is Congressman Randy Fine. He is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as the Judea and Samaria Caucus. He represents the 6th Congressional District of Florida. Congressman Fine, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always an honor to have you join us.
SPEAKER 20 :
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, let’s start with the Save America Act. Yesterday, you and some of your Republican colleagues sent a letter to Leader Thune over in the Senate, letting him know that until they pass the Save America Act, that you’ll be voting no on any Senate bills that comes to the House floor. Why is this a top issue?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I think it’s a top issue because you don’t have a country, you can’t have a democracy without elections you can trust. And the fact of the matter is Republicans have lost confidence in our elections, and for good reason. For four years, Joe Biden let anyone who wanted to stream across the border come in. Tens of millions of people. They put them on airplanes. They sent them all over the country. Then they put driver’s licenses in their hands and gave many of them Social Security numbers, making it as easy as possible for illegal immigrants to vote in our elections. We can’t allow that to happen. And there’s nothing more important for this country than to make sure people have confidence in our elections. So we’re saying to the Senate, people can filibuster passing that bill. Well, we can filibuster passing your bills by saying that we’re not going to vote for them. This is more important than housing bills or dog parades or art exhibitions or anything else they want to pass. We’re telling them, stay there, do your job, do whatever you have to do to get that bill passed. Have the talking filibuster. Let Democrats talk until they’re blue in the face about how important it is for illegal immigrants to vote in our elections. We will win, and then we send it to the president.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, hats off to you. That’s a great move. We saw Senator Lee a little while ago with a powerful statement, but I’d like to get your comments as to what do you make of the Democrats’ claim that this bill would somehow disenfranchise millions of American voters?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, are millions of people disenfranchised from getting on an airplane? Are they disenfranchised for buying cigarettes or alcohol? Are they disenfranchised from renting a car, checking into a hotel, opening a bank account? I mean, it’s insanity. You know, by the standards of them, our entire world is racist. And what’s really revolting is they’re making a claim that women and minorities somehow can’t figure out how to get a driver’s license. It’s nuts and it’s wrong. And what it exposes is that Democrats no longer can win elections just if Americans are voting, which is why their top two priorities are stopping the deportation of foreigners and then making sure those foreigners are able to vote in our elections. They like to talk about foreign interference in our elections, but they’re the ones who sponsor it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. And we’ve all seen that. Man, I wish we had more time to go into this. I’ve actually written on this myself. But let me change directions with you a little bit and get your thoughts over the battle over DHS funding. What do you make of that? How’s it going? And what do you anticipate happening?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I think they’re linked. Again, Democrats have said their priorities are protecting Muslim terrorists, protecting illegal immigrants, and protecting Somali pirates. That’s what they’re focused on. And they’re keeping DHS closed so that they can try to limit the deportation of foreigners who are in our country illegally, taking billions of dollars of welfare who don’t deserve it. Now, look, they’re putting real prices on Americans. I mean, not only are people not getting paid, but now it’s hard to get on an airplane flight. And I hope as Democrats fly home from Washington today and they see how difficult it is, they come to their senses and say the entire federal government needs to be open.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. All right, just a little bit more time left. I wanted to get your thoughts on the latest with the Iran conflict. Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an update and said that Israel does not know really who’s even in charge right now in Iran. But he also said that Israel is seeing cracks, both in the political leadership as well as units on the field, And he said that this whole campaign is going to take as long as necessary. So my question, what do you make of the latest developments and what do you think that this could ultimately mean for the United States?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I think things are going well and I think we just need to keep it up because there’s nothing we could do to transform the world more than have Iran go from a country that screams death to America to one that screams friend to America. For 50 years, they have wreaked havoc, not only in the Middle East, but all over the globe. And if we can bring that in for a landing, it will bring peace to the Middle East, which will largely bring peace to the world. So we need to be strong. I don’t think this is going to take much longer. I tell people I measure it in days, if not weeks. I don’t measure it in months. I think we need to get to the finish line and make Persia great again.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it’s incredible what’s happened. It seems just from an emotional perspective, it’s been longer than two weeks, but it’s stunning when you look back and see how much progress has been made in just two weeks of dismantling what was an enormous threat to the entire world. But as you pointed out, specifically America and Israel. So enormous info. Thank you so much, Florida Congressman Randy Fine. Always great to have you joining us. We appreciate it a great deal. Thanks for having me. All right. And with that, I want to just encourage you to – Come alongside us as we’re doing everything we can. We talked a little bit about the Saving America Act already, and this is an important issue. Urge our members of Congress and Senate right now to save America, save our elections. Text SAVE to 67742. All right, next, a big victory in West Virginia. Stay with us.
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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 19 :
A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal That they’re endowed by their Creator. With certain unalienable rights.
SPEAKER 18 :
That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th birthday, America. May God bless America.
SPEAKER 17 :
You see, America has freedom for a purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today? 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.
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At the 2026 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance in Washington, DC, members of Congress, state leaders, evangelical leaders, and intercessors from across the nation united as one voice in prayer.
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Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this gathering. We do repent, and we ask for your continued favor and blessing over our nation, even when we don’t deserve it.
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I thank you that because of the shed blood and the glorious righteousness of your Son, Jesus Christ, a sinner such as myself can boldly approach your throne. You said that you helped the humble, and we’re asking just now that you would help us, Lord.
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Our God is marching on. Glory, glory.
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We pray that you humble us, help us to follow after you with all our hearts so that we can see righteousness exalted in this nation and this nation restored to you. We know that it’s not by our power, it’s not by our might, it’s by your spirit.
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Freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. We pray that we would return to that purpose. Amen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you so much for joining us today on Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, an honor to be filling in today for Tony, and it’s always a great honor to have you with us as well. In recent weeks, we’ve seen a number of positive developments countering the radical transgender craze that seemed as though it was just spreading all across the nation. And there’s one recent development that may be paving the way for more and more of these. Last week, the fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the first federal appellate court to uphold a state ban on Medicaid coverage for so-called gender-affirming surgeries. Now, this case came out of West Virginia. The decision was unanimous, and it ultimately means that taxpayers in West Virginia will not be forced to foot the bill for these procedures. So why is this significant? Well, joining me now to discuss this is West Virginia’s Attorney General J.B. McCuskey. General McCuskey, welcome to Washington Watch. It’s our honor to have you join us.
SPEAKER 22 :
Thank you so much for having me. It’s my honor to be here.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I kind of simplified the case as an intro, but can you take it a little further and just unpack it for our viewers and our listeners? Sure.
SPEAKER 22 :
Sure, you did a great job. I’m not sure we need to keep doing the interview. The long and the short of this is that common sense is starting to prevail throughout our judiciary and thankfully within our culture. And so what West Virginia did was a really common sense law that said we’re not going to use our taxpayer money to pay for these elective gender reassignment surgeries. And when that happened, there was a lawsuit filed against our secretary of or the Department of Health and Human Services. And this case has been pending for years. And what the plaintiffs in this case were saying is that the law that says that we’re not going to pay for these using taxpayer dollars violates the Equal Protection Clause and several other laws. constitutional provisions. But the Fourth Circuit rightly decided that this law applies equally to biological men as it does to biological women. And that is important, right? Because what the ideology that is trying to make these laws unconstitutional is saying that gender and your biological sex are the same thing. And the Fourth Circuit rightly said that that isn’t true and that in West Virginia, biological men have the same access to care as biological females and that this is not the kind of procedure that the government should be forced to be paying for using taxpayer dollars. And we’re very grateful for the Fourth Circuit’s correct decision and hopeful that other circuit courts around the country will come to the same conclusion.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and it seems like this case there in West Virginia could very likely pave the way for more of those. We’ll certainly be watching it along with you and hopeful and prayerful that that will take place. I think it’s worth noting, too, that we’re talking about unproven cases. non-essential medical procedures and you know as money would go to those procedures I guess it’s fair to say is it not that every one of those dollars that would have gone to those procedures would be taking away funding that could have been used for for other important medical conditions be it cancer or heart disease or whatever other essential medical procedure is that accurate?
SPEAKER 22 :
Yeah, and so these programs are designed to help the least of us in their worst of times. And so what this decision will do will make sure that we have adequate funding to make sure that those who need a hand up have access to life-saving care, to the things they need to battle cancer, to battle, you name the affliction that they may have that they didn’t choose, right? And the Fourth Circuit decided, and correctly, again, that these are not procedures that are mandatory. And I think that’s important. And I think another really important thing, and as you probably know, we argued the transgendered athlete case at the United States Supreme Court just two months ago. And in that case, what we found the most insidious was that the ACLU’s lawyers, their main argument was that if you can transition children young enough, then they never become boys. And so the entire argument coming from this ideology, from that side of the aisle, is that we need to be performing these surgeries and giving younger and younger children hormone therapy in order to effectuate a change in their sexuality as early as age two and three years old. In this case at hand, the case in the Fourth Circuit, we heard testimony from plastic surgeons who had performed surgeries on young women and young boys as young as 11 years old. And I think what we’re finding out, and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has agreed with us here, that we cannot be doing these things to children, and that our culture really is going to dictate that going forward, we cannot allow the government to spend money on these things, and we have to ensure that we’re keeping these people’s hands off of our most vulnerable children.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, it’s unreal even listening to the arguments from the other side that you’re describing. I mean, we would never have even imagined such arguments just a few years ago. You know, those who bow to the transgender ideology really refuse to even acknowledge the existence of at least what some I don’t really— prefer this description, but some refer to it as detransitioners. And one of the judges on the panel recognized this. Is there anything else that really stood out to you as this unfolded last week?
SPEAKER 22 :
You know, it’s not just this, but what really stands out to me is this idea that we’ve moved beyond adults being able to spend their own money to do something that is voluntary into the government forcing children to be allowed to have this happen to them. And I feel for anybody who’s detransitioning that started as an adult, but I feel as though our greatest calling as public servants is to make sure that we’re giving children the opportunity to live an incredible life. And when a child is subjected to hormone therapy, when they’re too young to understand any of the consequences of that, there’s an evil adult involved. And so I am really thankful that the Fourth Circuit is protecting West Virginia’s taxpayers and our values. But I am… I stay… ever vigilant to make sure that we remain a place where these folks are keeping their hands off of our youngest children and ensuring that this is not something that is able to continue because our kids cannot make these decisions. And what we know is the younger that they make the decisions, the more mental health consequences it has for them later in life.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. We’re pretty much out of time, but West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act actually had some arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in January. Any idea when we might be hearing from that case when a decision may be coming?
SPEAKER 22 :
Yeah, we’re very hopeful that that will come down at the end of June, early July, and it was really our great honor to get to argue that case in front of the Supreme Court and for West Virginia to be leading the country in ensuring that our women and girls have a safe and fair place to play sports.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, you are leading the way. Thank you, West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey and all your colleagues joining you in the battle. We appreciate it. And thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch. All right, friends, coming up, we’ll discuss President Trump’s warning to Cuba. We’ll also talk about the response from the communist leadership there. So much more coming your way. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 01 :
I think all people really need to have this type of education.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I can tell you that it’s been an amazing course, period. 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 16 :
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 01 :
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. 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 27 :
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 02 :
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 11 :
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 16 :
View the course at frc.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, filling in today for Tony. Thank you for joining us. All right, the energy crisis in Cuba is getting worse and worse as pressure from the U.S. on the Communist Party leadership intensifies there. In fact, some experts warn that the country may be on the verge of an economic collapse. And earlier this week, President Trump warned of imminent action against the communist nation’s government. And he even floated the suggestion of taking, and that’s in quotes, taking Cuba. So after the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro in January, there’s no doubt that the flow of oil to Cuba was stopped. And since then, there have been multiple outages, probably the worst being earlier this week when some 10 million people there lost power. So why does President Trump want Cuba? And where is all of this headed? Well, joining me now to discuss this and more is Washington Stan writer, Yowie Suarez, who was exiled from Cuba because of his investigative reporting. He was reporting on themes like torture and political prisoners and government blacklist and freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, those type of things, and was exiled as a result. Yowie, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thank you so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 29 :
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. So what do you make of the current crisis and the current economic struggle, the situation in Cuba?
SPEAKER 29 :
Well, the country has collapsed. We have no power there. People don’t have medicines. People don’t have food, basically. And everything that comes in the modern world with a shortage of power, for instance, you have food rotten in the fridges. You have people without the ability to pump water to their houses. It’s just insane. And that’s a logical conclusion of socialism. It’s this concentration of power in a state that is inefficient and that is really corrupt, like the state in Cuba run by the Castro family for more than 70 years. years now, for almost 70 years now.
SPEAKER 06 :
Wow, it sounds like an absolutely horrible and horrifying situation. There are some reports that the U.S. and Cuba are in talks. What are those talks about? Do you have any idea? And what would you think that President Trump wants to come out of those talks?
SPEAKER 29 :
Well, we have to understand, first of all, that the architect of foreign policy obviously with Donald Trump, is Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio has a Cuban heritage. He understands that regime. He understands the evil of socialism. He was part of a community in Miami, in Florida, where there are a lot of exiles, people who have terrible stories. So he understands that socialism is a threat also for the U.S., for the national security because they are hosting all the evil people that wants to hurt Americans. For instance, they are hosting Iranians. They are hosting Chinese radar bases there. They are hosting Hezbollah, Hamas, all those terrible groups that wants to hurt America. So I think what Trump wants to achieve is to have a more friendly regime or government in Cuba. I think what a lot of Cubans want here in exile and there in Cuba, and I think Marco Rubio is part of that sentiment, we want real democracy. We want Cuba to be a beacon of freedom and a beacon of prosperity in the Caribbean area, as it was before the communist revolution in 1959. So I think it’s in the interest, in the national interest of the US to have a better neighbor, and to have a neighborhood that is more inclined to be friendly with the U.S. and with the national interests of the U.S.
SPEAKER 06 :
Two more quick questions for you, and that was extremely well said. Thank you for that. President Trump has threatened imminent action against Cuba’s government. Number one question, what do you think that might look like? Secondly, what is the condition of the church right now in Cuba?
SPEAKER 29 :
Well, for your first question, I can tell you, I don’t think the Cuban regime is going to fall down like It happened in Venezuela with Maduro. I don’t think the Trump administration will need this spectacular operation to extract Raul Castro, who is more than 90 years old now. I think the regime is smart enough to understand We can’t bluff like Maduro did. We can’t mess around with Trump, with the Trump administration. And they know they are a paper tiger right now, the regime. All the techniques that they have, all the airplanes, all the tanks are from the Soviet era. So I think what Trump is gonna try to do is put more pressure over to the regime in order to get a deal.
SPEAKER 06 :
And the deal is probably- Okay, real quickly, let me stop right there. We’ve got about 30 seconds. What is the role and the condition of the church in Cuba?
SPEAKER 29 :
The church right now is providing humanitarian aid for all Cubans, and the church is also raising their voices. There are young people in Cuba doing a great job communicating the ideas of freedom in the island, and they are suffering persecution right now, like Anna Benzi or Carlos David Fuentes de Arrezuelo. So a lot of people doing brave stuff inside of Cuba. Pray for the Cuban church.
SPEAKER 06 :
Amen. Thank you so much, Washington Stand writer, Yoey Suarez. Excellent job bringing us an update as to what’s happening in Cuba. We appreciate it so much. All right, friends, coming up, we’ll take a look at what it means to lead with faith, how to steward leadership and influence faithfully. Our next guest has a book about it, so stay with us.
SPEAKER 17 :
We have state leaders that want to keep the deadly drugs out of their states. Maybe if these abortion pills were coming by boat, the administration would change its tactics. It’s time to respect the rights of the states, and it’s time to end death by mail.
SPEAKER 24 :
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, alongside Senator Lindsey Graham, led a press conference on Capitol Hill urging the Trump administration to end the Biden era policies that have allowed dangerous abortion drugs to be shipped across state lines. They were joined by state attorneys general, pro-life advocates and multiple Republican congressmen.
SPEAKER 14 :
There are more abortions today in the United States than when Roe versus Wade was the law of the land. And why is that? It’s because of the chemical abortion drug, Mifeprestone. Nearly 70% of the abortions that are committed in the United States today are committed because of Mifeprestone.
SPEAKER 05 :
The federal government is allowing a chemical abortion pill to be sent through the mail that wipes out every state unborn protection law in the land.
SPEAKER 16 :
It’s harder to ship alcohol in this country than it is to ship the abortion pill.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that should never be the case. This is a drug that takes the life of every child. So there is always a death that’s involved in this drug, but is also incredibly dangerous for the mom as well. We think that we should require a doctor to be able to get access to this drug.
SPEAKER 07 :
As a doctor, I think it’s essential that there be human contact before the pill is prescribed.
SPEAKER 31 :
It’s not about a national abortion ban. It’s about validating Dobbs and preventing other states from nullifying the legislative policy choices that have been made by our states and facilitating the illegal, unethical, and dangerous drug trafficking of abortion pills into our states without any medical oversight whatsoever.
SPEAKER 05 :
We can simply fix this if we have the courage to do it. So what are all of us telling the administration? You’ve been a great pro-life president, Mr. President. It is now time to deal with this issue.
SPEAKER 14 :
We want to protect life, and we want to give voice to the American people and their right to protect life state by state, city by city, and yes, here in the United States Congress. That’s what this fight is about.
SPEAKER 24 :
Let your voice be heard. Text LIFE to 67742. Sign the petition. Tell the Trump administration to act.
SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am Jody Heiss, an honor today to be filling in for Tony. Thank you for joining us. All right, for those of you who are just now tuning in, perhaps you missed the beginning of the program, but we provided an update earlier regarding Tony and his family. We shared with you on Monday that Tony’s father, Richard Perkins, was called home to be with the Lord. He was 86 years old, and Tony has been with his family this week. But we want to invite you, all of our Washington Watch family members, To tune in tomorrow for the celebration of Richard Perkins’ life, it will be streamed on Tony’s Facebook page. It will also be on TonyPerkins.com. It will be tomorrow, Friday, at 1130 Eastern Time. I mean, excuse me, 1130 Central Time. Underscore that. 1130 Central Time tomorrow. And we would love for you to join the Perkins family and celebrate the legacy of this wonderful, wonderful man. And at the same time, we encourage you to continue praying for all the Perkins family. I know they not only deeply need it right now, but are deeply appreciative of it. So thank you for doing that. All right. Thursdays, often we kind of bring on some folks to talk about the highlights and wrap up the news. I want to break away a little bit from that routine. And if I can just kind of bring in a little bit of Sunday. into the week right now. It’s never a bad thing to bring Sunday, if you know what I’m referencing here, to bring Sunday into the midst of our week. And what I mean specifically is I want us to talk about faith. Faith that so easily can be confined to the four walls of the church when it should be part of our day-to-day life. I mean, we should be bringing our faith into the workplace. We should be bringing it into public spaces, into our kids’ schools. Christians should not be waiting for politicians or business icons or athletes or other leaders to change our society, to change our culture, and to lead the battle of faith. It’s up to each of us to be courageous advocates for truth within our individual spheres of influence. Well, how do we do that? Well, joining us to discuss this is Pastor Alan Jackson. He’s a senior pastor of the World Outreach Church. He’s founder of Alan Jackson Ministries and author of a book called Lead with Faith, Using Your Influence for God’s Purposes. I love that title. Pastor Alan, welcome to Washington Watch. It’s an honor to have you join us.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, thank you. It’s my privilege entirely.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I want to start our conversation with a relatively recent event, and that was the disruption of the church service in Minneapolis by anti-ICE protesters there. It was clearly wrong. It was clearly illegal. The church is a sacred place. But let me say this, and you may disagree with me, but I think this kind of goes a little bit into really where you’re coming from. If I were to use that incident in a sermon illustration, for example, perhaps one of the takeaways I would probably talk about is that believers ought to be as passionate about taking their faith and the gospel outside the doors of the church as those protesters were passionate about bringing their message inside the doors of the church. What do you think?
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, absolutely. I agree. But the book really came out of a realization. I serve a congregation and I’ve served in the same place for a long time. And I realized that our churches are filled with world-class leaders in business, academia, in a whole host of topics, but they’re very reluctant to take that influence that they have in all these arenas and integrate it with their faith. And so the purpose of the book was to try to give them an action plan for not segmenting their lives and leaving their faith on Sunday morning or in the privacy of their home, but to use their world-class leadership skills and be identified with their faith in all of those arenas as well. We don’t want anybody that knows us to be surprised that we’re a Christ follower. We want that to be a primary part of our identification.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely, and I’m so grateful that you’re bringing this out. We had an example of that on Capitol Hill the other day, Texas Congressman Michael Cloud and a liberal pastor who was testifying at a hearing, and the liberal pastor actually referenced improperly from Matthew 25 to justify tax-funded social programs and the like. And Congressman Cloud stepped in. In fact, let me play a quick clip from this and get your reaction to this.
SPEAKER 04 :
And the king will answer to them, truly I say to you, to the extent that you did to one of those brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did this to me. I would ask you, who’s the you in that passage?
SPEAKER 25 :
Thank you for your question. You, meaning all of us, the followers of Christ.
SPEAKER 04 :
Followers of Christ, right. In Matthew 24, 3, it says, after Jesus was sitting on the mountain of olives and the disciples came to him privately, and then they asked him, that began this whole chapter. Now, what Christ didn’t say was to lobby your government. He said, if you have, you give. That’s the general biblical principle here.
SPEAKER 06 :
I was so proud of Representative Cloud for stepping up, and we weren’t able to show the whole thing, but this is a good example of bringing faith, in this case, right into the forefront of Capitol Hill.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely it is. You know, what I think is unfortunate is in the current environment, If you bring your faith forward and you have a biblical worldview, kind of a conservative on the theological spectrum, they were told that that’s not appropriate in the public square. But if you have a more progressive biblical view and you have a minimalist view of biblical authority, so you embrace a lot of progressive ideas, you’re chic and celebrated in the public square. Well, those of us with an orthodox biblical worldview, we got to have the courage to bring our faith back into the public. And I’m proud of a congressman that will do that, but I don’t want the burden to follow the congressman. I want the pastors and the church leaders and all the good Christ followers across the country to recognize that we’ve got to bring our faith back to the public square. There are worldviews predominating corporate boardrooms and academia. Unfortunately, they haven’t been for quite a while now, biblical worldviews, and we’ve got to rectify that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. You know, as we watch more and more the increasing impact and influence of a secular culture, what you’re talking about in the timeliness of this book could not be more needed. So how do we help people, guide people amid the growing resistance to Christian values and a biblical worldview? Where’s the starting point for people?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, when I talk to Christ followers, I think it starts with our own God stories. All of us have stories of how faith has impacted our lives and our families and why we think it’s made us better. And I think we’ve got to integrate those with the fullness of our lives. We’re living compartmentalized, segmented lives, and I don’t believe it’s God. If you go to work and the people you work with don’t know you’re a Christ follower, I think you’re deceitful. How do you hide what you argue is the most significant relationship of your life from the people that you do your business with, your professional life? So we’ve got to have the courage to integrate it, not to criticize them, not to shame them, not to judge them, simply to bring a joy and enthusiasm about our faith into all of those places. You know, I’m married. If I said to you that I only, you know, when I’m at home, I honor my marriage vows fully, but when I leave home, I don’t really think I can afford to be encumbered by that covenant. I think we all understand the quality of that relationship would be pretty poor. Well, the same is true of our relationship with God. If it’s only works when we’re in church, it’s really not much of a relationship. We’ve got to integrate it with the fullness of our lives. It doesn’t mean we have to have perfect systematic theology. It doesn’t mean our lives are without flaws because none of us are, but it means we begin to bring the joy of our faith into all the places where we go.
SPEAKER 06 :
A great point. I hear this a lot. I’d love to get your reaction, but there’s a lot of pushback, obviously, when people start taking their faith into the public square. We hear labels just, for example, Christian nationalist, but it could be any number of other things. Why should these type of labels, why should they not deter believers from being bold in their faith?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, if the devil calls you a name and you stay home, you need to think about what your order of march is. I fully understand that there’s going to be some resistance as we do this. There was resistance when Jesus did this. There was resistance when the apostles did this. There has been resistance throughout the history of the church when God’s people took their faith forward. but there’s also been incredible fruit. It makes our homes better. It makes our communities better. It makes our society better. If we don’t believe our biblical worldview will make our world better, then why do we think we’re Christians? And if we do think it’ll make our world better, then we should understand, yeah, there may be some pushback and there’s some struggle and we may be labeled with some things. I’ve kind of resolved myself that, you know, I’m going to be called all sorts of things, Christian nationalist, xenophobic, sexist. I mean, the list goes on and on because in our current environment, we don’t typically have like a social discussion around differing ideas. We just shout labels at one another. And we’ll have to have the courage to walk into that storm knowing that we’re going to get some labels, but we can still honor the Lord in that. The 11th commandment is not thou shalt be kind. We’re called to be obedient to the authority over our lives. And there were some things Jesus said they weren’t very kind. You know, he looked at a lot of leaders and powerful people and he said, you’re a bunch of snakes, you’re whitewashed tombs, you’re blind guides. And then he turned around and looked at the audience and said, don’t follow these people. Those were not kind words. He said, I didn’t come to bring peace on the earth. I came to bring division. And there will be some separation that comes when we speak the truth, but there will be some life transformation. It’s worth the effort.
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s worth the effort. Extremely well said. This leads in perfectly to your book. I love the title, Lead with Faith. What does it mean to lead with faith in today’s culture? You’re talking a lot about it, but is there anything more specific? What does it mean to lead with faith?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, I think first and foremost, you know, it starts at our kitchen tables. You know, bring the values of your faith into your dialogue in your home. You know, if you’re parenting, let the children feel that. When you gather around your holiday table, don’t apologize for a biblical worldview. When you go to the ball games and you sit in the bleachers to watch your children or your grandchildren play, don’t just talk about the weather. Talk about what God’s doing in your life, what you see God doing in the world. Just begin to take your faith into the fabric of your life. We don’t have to preach. We don’t have to be judgmental on every conversation. We’re not there to correct every wrong. We’re walking forward into our lives with an enthusiasm for God. He’s changed my life. He makes it better every day. The most delimiting factor in my life has been a relationship with Jesus. He’s taken all the ceilings out of my life. And I love to talk about that. And if we can all learn to do that, we’ll live in a better place.
SPEAKER 06 :
What do you say to the person that has been inundated with the concept that you just can’t talk religion and politics? You can’t mix the two. How do you respond?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, I’m sure our adversaries would like us to concede that point. We don’t want a state church. We don’t want the government mandating what we believe or how we practice our faith. but we have every right to bring our worldview into a public discussion. At this point in my life, I’m ashamed. A few decades ago, they began to say in a corporate setting, if my faith offended someone and someone raised their hands and said, I’m uncomfortable with that, then we were told to be quiet. So we kind of conceded and quietly withdrew from the discussions. And now we find ourselves in corporate settings and public settings where there’s very much a worldview that’s being advocated. And if I raise my hand and I say, your worldview is offensive to me, I’m told to be quiet, that I’m narrow-minded, that I’m out of step, that I’m not up to speed. Well, so it wasn’t that they didn’t want a worldview in place, they didn’t want mine. And I’m ashamed that I ever withdrew from the dialogue quietly. So I’m back and I’m knocking on the door and we have a right to be engaged. I don’t want a state church. I don’t want the government mandating what I believe, but I want my beliefs to be represented in the government in which I live. That is our right in this constitutional republic. And the Christians better wake up or we’re going to, our educational systems are already cratering. I mean, we see so many places where our Christian faith needs to come back. And that’s not about the ungodly, it’s about those of us people of faith beginning to lead with our faith again.
SPEAKER 06 :
Amen and amen. So how can a believer cultivate the courage that’s needed to lead with their faith, to step out? A person who’s never done this before, what would you say to them, how to get started?
SPEAKER 12 :
That’s a really good question. I think of courage as a muscle. And if you’ve got a muscle you haven’t been using, you need to know when you start to use it again, it’s going to be uncomfortable. You’re going to be a little awkward with it. And if you begin to exercise, it’s going to get fatigued and it’s going to be sore. And so I don’t expect this necessarily to be simple, but there’s some easy ways to start. We’re in the Easter season. Celebrate Easter with enthusiasm. Let everybody that knows you know that you’re engaged in celebrating Easter. You can find the ways that fit your personality and your lifestyle to do that. Take down the low hanging fruit. There are some things, you know, if it’s Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate that motherhood was God’s idea. God created us male and female. That was God’s idea. We don’t have to surrender the arena on these things. Take the simple places that we’re already celebrating. This is the 250th anniversary of our nation. God has blessed America. We have more abundance, more freedoms, more liberties. We’re not perfect. So as you’re celebrating our 250th anniversary this year, bring your faith into the discussion. Somebody will call you a Christian nationalist. I’ve been called worst. You know, if the only response they have to our truth is to call us names, we’ll survive.
SPEAKER 06 :
And real quickly, we’ve got just about 30 seconds. So where can people buy a copy of Lead with Faith and how can they connect with you online?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, they can just go to allenjackson.com. It’s A-L-L-E-N jackson.com. You get a book there and all the resources, or you can find the book in any place you buy your books, but the website will take you to all the content.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I tell you what, this has been a fascinating discussion. I want to thank you for coming out and speaking, calling the body of Christ to step out and live out loud the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Pastor Alan Jackson, Senior Pastor of World Outreach Church and author of Lead with Faith, Using Your Influence for God’s Purposes. All right, friends, that wraps up this edition of Washington Watch. We’ll see you tomorrow. Have a great evening.
SPEAKER 08 :
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.
