In this episode of Washington Watch, host Tony Perkins delves into the complexity surrounding the second longest government shutdown in U.S. history, analyzing its political implications and the ongoing stalemate in Congress. Conversations with Kansas Senator Dr. Roger Marshall highlight the Republican perspective on negotiations, healthcare issues, and the impact on American citizens. With key insights into the shutdown’s implications and analysis of the Democratic opposition, listeners are offered a deep dive into the strategic maneuvers at play in Washington. Shifting focus to the Middle East, Tony provides updates on the fragile ceasefire situation in Gaza, featuring perspectives from
SPEAKER 17 :
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 19 :
Welcome to day 22 of the Democrat shutdown. Well, it’s already been, as we noted yesterday, the longest full government shutdown in history. October 22nd marks another landmark. This is now the second longest government shutdown of any kind ever in the history of our country. And it’s just shameful. Democrats keep making history, but they’re doing it for all the wrong reasons.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier today accusing Democrats of making history for all the wrong reasons as the government shutdown stretches into day 22. Welcome to this October 22nd edition of Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Thanks for tuning in. Well, coming up on today’s program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting the idea of Turkish forces in post-war Gaza, signaling sharp opposition to part of the U.S.-backed ceasefire plan. Jonathan Shanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins us with the latest developments out of the Middle East later in the program. And there is no end in sight on what is now so far the second longest government shutdown in U.S. history. We’ll get the latest from Kansas Senator Dr. Roger Marshall. Well, as I mentioned, Vice President J.D. Vance met earlier today with Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, as a part of a push to stabilize the fragile ceasefire deal in Gaza. Israel says Hamas is continuing its delay of returning the bodies of deceased hostages as the terrorist organization continues killing Palestinian civilians in Gaza who oppose its rule. Joining me now is Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper, who has been following today’s main developments. Casey, what came out of these meetings that Vice President J.D. Vance had with Israeli leaders today?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, Tony, well, there’s a lot of controversy over Turkey’s role in a post-war Gaza. Now, as you discussed on yesterday’s program with Chris Mitchell of CBN, This Turkish presence in Gaza, it’s a non-starter. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he pushed back on the idea of Turkish forces playing a role in the post-war Gaza as part of the US peace plan. And during a speech with Vice President Vance in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that the security decisions would be made jointly, but he made clear he has strong opinions on this issue.
SPEAKER 01 :
Israel will obviously decide together who does that. So I have very strong opinions about that. You want to guess what they are? When it comes to Israel’s security, we do what we have to do. That’s always the case. It’s not a question about it. America has an interest in a strong Israel, which we just heard from the Vice President. And Israel has an interest in a strong America.
SPEAKER 08 :
So the ceasefire plan, which is backed by President Trump, includes disarming Hamas, which is, of course, very important, but also includes deploying an international stabilization force. Now, Vance, he’s actually praised the progress so far and suggested he’s welcoming a possible role for Turkey. But tensions between Israel and Turkey are extremely high, as you know. If you may remember that Turkish President Erdogan, he basically vetoed Prime Minister Netanyahu from attending that important Gaza peace summit in Egypt just last week, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I tell you, Casey, I share the prime minister’s concerns. Casey, also the Israeli parliament made some news today with a vote on Judea and Samaria. What’s the latest on that?
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s right, a lot of big news out of Israel, Tony. So Israeli lawmakers have given initial approval to a bill that would actually extend Israeli law to parts of Judea and Samaria, which is also known, of course, as the West Bank, and is land that Christians and Jews have long recognized as part of God’s covenant land with Israel. Now, the bill passed narrowly, but it still needs more votes. But it marks a bold stand from Israel to reclaim territory with those deep biblical roots. Now, a second bill to annex the Mali-Adumim settlement passed by a wider margin. Netanyahu’s government had considered annexing parts of the West Bank back when several Western nations actually recognized the Palestinian state, but he did appear to back off from that after objections from the U.S. and warnings from key Arab states like the UAE.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, it’s interesting. We should note that Senate Democrats minus Pennsylvania Senator Fetterman sent a letter today to President Trump calling on him to include the prohibition against annexing areas of Judea and Samaria in the Gaza plan. Of course, my advice to Israel, annex as much as you can and annex it now. We’ll actually discuss what’s happening in the Middle East further with Jonathan Sanzer. He’s the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies a little later in the program. I want to shift gears to debate over the government shutdown. President Trump and Republican leaders say they won’t negotiate with Democrats until the government reopens. What’s the latest on the standoff?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, Tony. Well, the Senate is set to vote for a 12th time on a House-passed bill to reopen the government, but we don’t really expect the 12th time to be the charm. Republican leaders, as you said, are unified with President Trump and are refusing to, the way they put it is they don’t want to negotiate with a gun to their head. So this morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson, he attacked Democrats, calling them the party of nonsense, and he accused them of blocking progress.
SPEAKER 19 :
The Democrats can’t even agree on what they want right now. If you polled congressional Democrats on what it would take to reopen the government, you would not get a uniform answer. Every reporter in the room, by the way, should be asking them that question. Democrats put together this haphazard grab bag of crazy leftist policy proposals when they knew that it would not be agreed upon, and they knew that it was clear that Republicans were working to do the responsible thing and offer a clean CR to fund the government.
SPEAKER 08 :
Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, he actually began speaking in protest against President Trump on the Senate floor last night, but just wrapped up his attack on the president. And despite the shutdown, some parts of the federal government are still running. For instance, the USDA, they’re planning to reopen over 2,000 local offices to help out farmers. And many of these farmers, as you know, have been hit hard by trade tensions and the shutdown. But it’s just one more development in this ongoing, seemingly never-ending shutdown, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
Interesting case, Senator Merkel. He was speaking for 22 hours. I guess that’s in honor of the 22 days of the shutdown. All right. Thanks for bringing us the latest. We’ll check in with you later. All right, I want to go back now to the government shutdown, 22 days. We’re going to discuss what’s happening in the Senate. Joining me is U.S. Senator Dr. Roger Marshall of Kansas. He serves on several Senate committees, including the Budget Committee and the Committee on Health and Education and Labor. He’s also an OBGYN who has practiced medicine for more than 25 years, delivering more than 5,000 doses. And he just came from a subcommittee chair subcommittee hearing that he was chairing. Dr. Marshall, thanks so much for taking time to join us.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, Tony, great to be with you. I think I’d rather be back in the delivery room today.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we need to deliver something. But it appears that the Democrats continue to block the delivery of that hope for the American people.
SPEAKER 20 :
Right. And as the president said yesterday several times, we’re not going to negotiate until the Democrats open the federal government. The way I would look at this is the following. The Democrats kidnapped the federal government. Their ransom is $1.5 trillion. They want to borrow an additional $1.5 trillion, adding to our national debt. And we’re simply not going to do it. When you make that payment, when you pay the ransom, it just encourages them to do the same thing here in another 60 days when we get to the next short term gap measure as well. So we’re stuck. Just remind people that over 50 times in the last decade, Chuck Schumer has walked across the line or down the hallways of Congress and voted yes on some type of a stop gap measure like this over 50 times. What’s different today? Well, the politics is what’s different.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. You know, for the benefit of our listeners, I know we’ve been repeating this for 22 days, but I’ll say it again. So that one point five trillion dollars is an extension of premium subsidies for Obamacare that are set to expire at the end of this year. They were a part of the covid era spending. It was temporary. It was during covid. And Republicans have never voted for that. They’ve never voted for Obamacare because of the underlying issues of funding abortion. And now we know that it funds transgender surgeries for minors. So I’m not sure where the Democrats think the Republicans are going to go on this, but they’ve never voted for this before. Why would they start now?
SPEAKER 20 :
And that’s exactly right. And even just to back up further, the original ACA plan had the federal government paying about 80% of the premiums for these plans. And we should talk about those later. But during these extra new subsidies, Biden-era subsidies, the federal government’s paying 100% of the plan. And we’re just wanting to go back to the pre-COVID levels. I would like to… rehashed all the ACA, but we’re not getting rid of everything. We just would like to go back to the pre-COVID levels and address some of the other problems here. But at the end of the day, that’s the biggest portion of this $1.5 trillion are these supposedly temporary subsidies.
SPEAKER 04 :
I don’t want to camp out on this, but you’re a good source to ask, being a doctor who practiced medicine for 25 years. Is this not an effort by Democrats to try to cover up the failure of the ACA by getting these premium subsidies extended? Because the system is not working. Obamacare is not working.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, the one thing we know about the Affordable Care Act is it’s not affordable, that premiums have at least doubled since the ACA was enacted, that we’re facing a 20% hike this year. With the ACA plans, 24 million people on them are going to see a 20% increase in premiums, regardless of what the federal government does. By the way, they have on average a $5,000 deductible. If you have a $5,000 deductible, Tony, and you’re a family making $60,000, $80,000 a year, that’s not access to healthcare. And by the way, there’s $25, $50 billion of fraud in the ACA as well. So look, we want everyone to have healthcare. We want to take care of everybody. We want everybody to have meaningful, affordable healthcare. But the ACA is a failure. And any hospital that’s closing now, anybody that’s suffering from increased premiums now, the Democrats own this. The ACA has been the law of the land for 15 years. Anything we’ve done since President Trump was elected, you won’t really see the results of that for, you know, a year or two for all practical purposes.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think it’s time to come to terms with that. Congress needs to deal with it. It just doesn’t work. All right. I want to move on. I want to ask. We got about two and a half minutes left and we’ll go to the next segment. But I want to ask you about the meeting yesterday with President Trump at the White House. Anything the president said that maybe you weren’t expecting?
SPEAKER 20 :
Gosh, I’m not sure that if there was, but I can sure tell you that I’ve never seen such a strong team. Tony, I’ve been a part of some really good teams in my lifetime. Our church that a group of us worked on just did a great job. A group of doctors that came together to build a hospital. You’ve been a part of some great teams. This feels like a great team right now. and and coach trump is out there just reinforcing us saying look hang together stick together the biggest problem that this country faces is our 38 trillion dollar uh national debt and don’t give in we can’t give in to the democrats on this we can’t reinforce bad behavior so to me it was a team building exercise and there’s just always good to hear from the president firsthand exactly what he’s thinking whether it’s what’s going on in gaza or ukraine and as you know the president’s He might cover 20 different topics in 30 minutes. So it’s just good to hear it firsthand, to see his body language. And by the way, the president has just an incredible gift of hospitality. You know, we talk about the different gifts that the Bible says that we’re all given. He has the gifts of hospitality. And I just wish all Americans could experience it like I get to. About a minute left.
SPEAKER 04 :
Senator, do you see the Democrats taking an off ramp anytime soon on this government shutdown?
SPEAKER 20 :
I’m afraid I don’t. Even tomorrow, they’re going to have the opportunity to vote on paying the federal employees that are here working, the essential workers. Think about, of course, our military. They’ve already voted against that one. We have Capitol Police up here. My staff is working without paychecks as well. So they’re going to have a chance just to reopen the government just to do that. They say they’re going to refuse. I don’t know what their off-ramp looks like right now. So it’s a dire predicament right now, and it’s interesting. President Trump seems to be focused on some things overseas, waiting for that timing. He’ll know the timing when he needs to be engaged, and he’ll be the good dealmaker for us.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Senator… Stick with us. When we come back, I want to talk about a letter that 51 Senate Republicans sent to the FDA regarding the abortion pill. And I want to talk about some good news on the gender identity front. It appears that this craze that was taking place during the Biden administration among our youth is ending. Don’t go away. We’re back after this. Our founding scripture for this is Ephesians 6, verse 13. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day. And having done all to stand, stand therefore.
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We are equipping the body of Christ to understand that what is happening around us is not just political. It’s not just cultural. At its heart, it is spiritual.
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We gather in a nation that has torn the foundation apart, and we have separated our governing documents from our divine source, Jesus Christ. We need truth now more than ever to guide us.
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I’m believing, God, let this be a testimony of the American church, that we become so full of the fire of the Word of God that we cannot contain it. We have to tell people about it. We have to make disciples.
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The idea of America was the idea that our rights don’t come from governments. They come from our divine creator, right? Government’s main job is to protect those rights. And because that was the foundation of America, we’ve enjoyed over the last 250 years, more freedom, more prosperity, more stability than any other nation anywhere in the world. And that should be celebrated.
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We are living in a moment. What’s that moment? It’s a prophetic moment on God’s timeline. That’s right. And so he needs the church more than ever to act biblically for the blessing of our political leaders and of our nation.
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The number one issue facing America domestically, which is the epidemic of fatherlessness. 40% of all American children today enter the world without a father in the home married to the mother.
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We cannot win the pro-life fight without acknowledging that this is the pro-family fight, that this is the pro-marriage fight. We’re never going to end abortion if we do not secure and shore up marriage.
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SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch, continuing my conversation with Senator Dr. Roger Marshall of Kansas. Senator, thanks for sticking around. I know that you’ve got some votes coming up there on the floor, so if you’ve got to break away, I completely understand. But I want to move on to the issue of the abortion drug Mifeprestone. The 11th hour before the government shut down, the FDA approved a generic version of that. And it has many of us scratching our heads as to why. Was this a priority? Even as the FDA said that they were studying the effects of this drug upon women and the adverse health effects. What’s going on?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, Tony, I’m as perplexed as you are, and certainly I’ve reached out to the White House and FDA to ask them what is going on here. That, you know, under the Biden administration, they basically made this a mail-order drug that you didn’t have to see a doctor. And I think all of us that have any experience in obstetrics understand that this drug is dangerous, that 11% of women that take it have a serious complication, typically hemorrhaging, infection, and a lot of pain as well. And I’ve had to take care of a number of those type of patients. Again, someone else had given them the pill and I had to take care of the complications from it in my emergency room. So I’m really baffled about it. And I just don’t have an explanation for you, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I will tell you this. I’m grateful that 51 Republican senators have sent this letter, signed on to this letter to the FDA and to the secretary of health and human services saying, hey, what’s up? This needs to be withdrawn. So I appreciate the fact that the the Republicans are on top of this house doing something very similar. So I. Do anticipate that we’re going to see some action on this. I want to move to another story, something else that you’ve been very much involved in and providing leadership in the Senate. And that is the the transgender issue of surgeries for minors. We’re finding out what we were saying all along. Roger, is that if you just allow these children to go through the process, they’re going to come out OK on the other side. A new couple of studies, not just one, but a couple of studies showing that young adults, the number of young adults identifying as transgender is plunging nearly in half in in the last two years. What’s behind this?
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, I’d be interested in your thoughts as well. But I think number one is we’ve had this mental health epidemic going on in the country since basically apps were on phones and the youngsters had access to social media, the internet, that type of thing. But what I see in this Gen Zers, this group under 30, they’ve got to hop in themselves. They want to be patriots. They have been so… DEI, I don’t know what the right verb is for it, but treated so poorly that they didn’t get into the prestigious schools. They didn’t get the good jobs. One thing, and they were told that you’re a bad person because you’re a successful male. So That group has said, enough of this. I think enough people like you and me, us, have said, enough of this. This is probably a 95 to 5 issue. When we saw schools blatantly saying, we’re going to let boys compete against girls, I think that was just the end of it. And then just to see the brave people that stood up and said, I feel uncomfortable with a guy in my girl’s bathroom or girl’s locker room. So it just took a few of us to stand up. And then the rest of America stood up and said, enough of this. And once again, you know, it’s in vogue to be a strong man, to be a strong woman, that those are OK things to be as well.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, Senator, I would point to to leadership. I mean, leadership is important and it shapes the way young people think young people are impressionable. And when you have a president in the White House, as we did with Joe Biden, who was championing. this transgender craze, and paying for it, by the way. Not surprising you got more of it. But last year, you introduced legislation to protect America’s children from these irreversible physical and emotional harms caused by transgender procedures. And you didn’t mince words. You said it was child abuse. And you called out those who were benefiting from the mutilization, from mutilating and sterilizing and castrating children. So I think part of this is the turn in leadership where finally leaders, I know you’ve been speaking out all along, but we’ve had others that have joined the chorus. And I think kids are listening.
SPEAKER 20 :
Kids are impressionable. Yeah, Tony, I think that chorus, let’s go back to the chorus again. You and I were talking about this very, very early on. And what we do is we kind of attack it from an air, land, and sea approach to it. The air to me are the airwaves. Family Research Council has an army of people We’ve got an army of people. James Langford up here runs the Values Action Team. He’s got an army of people. And we reach out to the folks back home and say, let’s stand up on this one. We’re not going to take it lightly. We need people to go to their school boards and say, no, enough of this. And then what can we do legislatively, state legislation, federal legislation? And then the next thing we do is we say, okay, we’re not going to use federal funding for this. And then after that, we say, by the way, we’re not going to let any child, anyone under the age of 18 have these surgeries because number one, they’re irreversible. And number two, they’re going to cause chronic physical as well as mental pain. And by the way, some of the medications they were prescribing were also irreversible, leading to infertility, among other things. So we did the right thing, Tony. And I’m just so glad to see these reports. And I’m just totally I’m just grateful.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I think, Senator, it’s a case study. and what happens when when we lean into something and leaders lead because especially when it again when it applies to our children who are impressionable and they you know they may not act like they’re listening but they are listening and they take their cues from adults so i’m hopeful that senator your leadership on like mifeprestone the abortion drug and some of these other important issues that are affecting children affecting our culture if we’ll stay at it and we will speak boldly and courageously as you have done and others will join you, that we can see the same type of outcome.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, Tony, we had a tough day up here a couple of weeks ago. One of the members of the cabinet texted me Ephesians 6, 714, actually. And I’m sorry, Ephesians 612. I’m thinking of a football score. Ephesians 612, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world. And I think this transgender issue is absolutely a spiritual battle for the soul of this nation. And so many of these issues are a battle for the soul of this nation as well. It goes way beyond even politics. I’m grateful for President Trump’s leadership and just some of what he shared lately with us about his faith in God. And just more and more of us need to share that this country was founded on Judeo-Christian values. And as long as we keep those values close to heart, we’re going to be just fine.
SPEAKER 04 :
And living them out. Dr. Roger Marshall, always great to see you, my friend. Thanks so much for taking time to join us today. Thank you, Tony. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas. By the way, we need you to lean in on this, on the life issue and the abortion bill. Text LIFE to 67742. That’s LIFE to 67742. And sign the petition that we’re sending to the president on this issue. We’re rallying the troops. We’ve got to stand for life. All right, don’t go away. We’ve got more Washington Watch straight ahead. For over 4,000 years, the Jewish people have had legal, historical, and biblical ties to the land of Israel, especially the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, which much of the world still calls the West Bank. To Israelis, Judea and Samaria is far more than a name. It’s the center of their ancestral homeland where nearly 80% of the Bible’s events took place. Abraham purchased property in Hebron, Jacob in Shechem, Joshua made an altar on Mount Ebal and led the Israelites into a covenant before God. On Mount Gerizim, overlooking Shechem, Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well about worshiping neither on Mount Gerizim nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth. Judea and Samaria is nearly a quarter of Israel’s current land mass, not a small strip of land on the Jordan River, but a vital and strategic part of the nation’s identity. The October 7th massacre, launched from Gaza, shattered the illusion that giving away territory brings peace. Gaza, which was once seen as the cornerstone of a two-state solution, became a launchpad for terror. Today, only 21% of Israelis support a Palestinian state. Trust in a two-state solution has all but collapsed. The Middle East is changing. Iran’s grip is weakening. New alliances are forming. But Western countries and some U.S. officials still chase the mirage of a two-state solution. History speaks clearly. The 2005 Gaza withdrawal, backed by the U.S., led not to peace, but to a terrorist regime. Judea and Samaria are 24 times larger than Gaza, deeply woven into Israel’s geographic and spiritual fabric. To surrender them would not bring peace. It would invite conflict and existential danger. Family Research Council stands with Israel’s rightful claim to sovereignty. It’s time for America to do the same for history, for justice, and for lasting security in the Middle East. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in. Let me encourage you, if you’ve not yet downloaded the Stand Firm app, you can get it in the App Store. That way you can have Washington Watch with you no matter where you go. But you’ll also have access to special programs like we had with the Prevost Stand Summit in California this past weekend. In fact, you can still watch some of these segments that are actually going viral. because they’re so rich in content all that’s at the stand firm app you can also get our daily commentary and news from a Christian biblical perspective the Washington stand and my daily devotion stand on the word all of that is found on the stand firm app All right, we’ve been doing this now for several weeks, and we’re going to continue to do our weekly Standing Together segment, where we highlight organizations that share our commitment to advance the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, and freedom. And this week, we want to give attention to Kids Beach Club, which partners with churches in reaching unchurched children and their families with the gospel. It’s a great organization. I’ve worked with them, and exciting to see what God is doing through this ministry. Joining me now to discuss this, Jack Terrell. He’s the founder and president of Kids Beach Club. Jack, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 18 :
Man, it is really good to be with you again, Tony. Blessings on you, brother.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you’ve been serving children’s ministries for some 40 years, but it was about 20 years ago after receiving a challenge from your church that you developed this innovative after-school strategy. For our listeners and viewers that may not have heard you on the program before, give us kind of an overview of Kids Beach Club.
SPEAKER 18 :
Man, you nailed it. We were birthed from the church. We were doing a children’s ministry called Treasure Island. It was a big children’s worship. And the pastor wanted me to take what we were doing in that worship environment outside the walls of the church. And so that was the challenge. And the birth was Beach Club. And Beach Club has been involved in elementary schools because that’s where we saw at that time where children, the vast majority of children where they were, and so we wanted to go invest in where they were and so in schools and that’s what we did and we’ve been doing that now for almost 20 years and to God be the glory, we’ve seen over 130,000 kids come through the ministry. Tony, we’ve seen over 80,000 Bibles distributed into the hands of children. We’ve seen now over 10,000 kiddos come to make Jesus their forever friend. And we currently have just under 4,500 kids in weekday Bible study in public schools in about 11, 12 states.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is exciting because your focus is on the preteens, third through the sixth grade. And as I’ve talked about in this program many times, in fact, shared with some of your supporters, this is a key period of time because this is when a worldview is shaped. And so by reaching these kids, and that was when I was reached because I was born into an unchurched home, when I was reached in that age range, and it has a life-impacting effect. Give me the number of ministry sites you know, how many partners you have now in different schools.
SPEAKER 18 :
Excellent. We’re at about 107 current active clubs. We’ve got probably another 15 that are going to be coming on after we get past December. And so we have served about 300 clubs. church partners in our history and been on more than 300 campuses in our history. And so as things ebb and flow and leadership or father moves his pastors and churches, go here, there, and yonder. We have a tendency to fluctuate in our numbers based on those. But the vast majority of the children that receive those Bibles, Tony, they have no concept of who Jesus is. And so the… Many of the homes that receive a Bible, many of the homes, this is their first Bible that’s into their home. And they absolutely cherish it. My wife, Tammy, this week, we did our Great Treasure Day where we gave children their Bibles. And my wife, just on a whim, she said, does everybody have a Bible at home? And one little girl just started shaking her head, no. And then there, you know, it’s just the reality of where we are. The biblical literacy of the American family today doesn’t have a Bible and doesn’t know who Jesus is. And so our going onto the campus is a huge, huge challenge.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I know that if you can reach the children, you can reach the parents as well. Jack, we just have a little over a minute left. How can people find out more about Kids Beach Club?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, that would be great. We would love for your viewing audience to check us out. Go to www.kidsbeachclub.org and go on that website. Go on our website. And you can find out about the different locations that we’re involved in. And we would love to come and do a meeting at your church and help your church become aware. Because what our desire is is to plug that church and that church become a part of the body life of an elementary school. So we want to plug churches in. into their community and into those schools. And they can do that by going to kidsbeachclub.org and finding out more as to how they can participate and bring a beach club to their community.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it’s a great outreach for a local church to go where the kids are, reach the kids. You’re going to get the parents too. Jack, always great to see you, my friend. Thanks for being faithful.
SPEAKER 18 :
Wow. Thank you, sir. And anytime. You take care of my brother.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Jack Terrell with Kids Beach Club. I do encourage you to check it out if your church is looking for a ministry and a way to reach kids in your community. This is a great one. All right, don’t go away. More Washington Watch straight ahead.
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. Family Research Council invites you to join our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan as we reflect upon the life of Jesus, the Word who dwelt among us. Come with us and discover the glory of the Word. Read the Gospels and witness the life-changing story of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection. Come read how Jesus transformed the lives of common people and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Come with us for 10 to 15 minutes a day and read the entire New Testament before the new year. Find our Bible reading plan in daily devotionals from Tony Perkins at frc.org slash Bible. Join us and stand on the word.
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Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs decision, a ruling that overturned Roe versus Wade, which for nearly 50 years imposed abortion on demand, silencing voters and bypassing the democratic process across the country. The Dobbs decision was a huge step forward against abortion, but it didn’t outright ban it. It returned the power to the people. Now, 29 states have laws on the books protecting life. However, there’s a catch. Abortion numbers since Dobbs have actually gone up with an increase of 12% since 2020, climbing from 930,000 to over 1 million in each of the most recent years. So how can this be? The answer is simple, the abortion drug. Today, over 60% of US abortions involve abortion drugs, many of these without medical oversight. In 2021, the Biden administration quietly removed bare minimum longstanding safety protocols for the abortion drug that have existed for 20 years to protect women from life-threatening risks and ensuring informed consent. The Biden DOJ then declared that they would not enforce the Comstock Act, which prevents the mailing of anything that causes an abortion. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous. A study shows nearly 11% of women who take the abortion drug end up in the emergency room with serious complications. Unless the Trump administration reverses these reckless Biden-era policies, pro-life laws will remain largely symbolic. Without a full review and repeal of Mifepristone, unborn lives will remain in grave danger, and pregnant mothers will remain at risk. Let’s stand for life and end this mail order abortion drug pipeline. Sign the petition urging the Trump administration to take action at frc.org slash stop chemical abortion.
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This is Washington Watch and I’m Tony Perkins. Again, if you would like to weigh in on this issue of the abortion drug Mifeprestone and the current policy of the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services, which is basically keeping in place the Biden-era policy that allows these deadly drugs to be sent through the mail with no in-person consultation between the woman and the doctor. And we’ve found in many places, including my home state of Louisiana, where someone else is ordering this drug for a woman and oftentimes giving it to her without her knowledge. Text the word LIFE to 67742. That’s LIFE to 67742 to sign that petition. Our word for today comes from Romans chapter 11. In Romans 11, Paul asks a question that many are asking today. I say then, has God cast away his people? Certainly not, for I am also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. Paul, his answer is clear. God has not rejected Israel. He is living proof that God’s covenant promises remain sure. In verse 2, he says, Yet Paul explains how a partial blindness has come upon Israel. In verse 8, he says, He says, You know, those who persist in refusing truth, as we found out, eventually lose the ability to perceive it. But this hardening of Israel is temporary. Verse 11 says, Have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not. But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. God’s purpose is not to replace Israel, but to provoke them to faith, that both Jew and Gentile might be united in faith. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742. While much of the civilized world longs for peace in the Middle East, there are some who do not. Hamas clearly belongs in that category. But there are others who seem intent on exacting a high price for peace, one far greater than Israel’s leaders are willing to pay. Among the key players emerging in the latest Gaza peace effort are the state of Qatar and the Republic of Turkey, two nations whose involvement has raised serious concerns. Joining me now to discuss this and more is Dr. Jonathan Shanzer. He is executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He’s the author of Gaza Conflict 2021, Hamas, Israel, and 11 Days of War. Dr. Sanger, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us today.
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That’s my pleasure.
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All right, let’s start with these high-level officials from the U.S. that are in Israel, including Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been there. Vance, who arrived in Israel yesterday, was asked about this. He said it’s not about monitoring it in the sense of monitoring a toddler. It’s important for the administration to make sure our people continue to keep doing what we need them to do. Is this plan holding? Is it going to work?
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It’s a good question, and I don’t know if we know how to answer it just yet. Right now, I would say it is holding, but it is tenuous. We got the 20 live hostages back. That was a huge achievement for Donald Trump. I don’t think anybody thought that it would happen. We’ve got roughly half of the slain hostages back. That’s a huge achievement. But the question really, I think, is whether Hamas is going to continue to relinquish them, because they amount to Hamas’ leverage in this war with Israel. The fewer hostages, the slain hostages, the bodies that they have, the less leverage that they have against Israel. Then comes the last part, which I think is the most tenuous, the most complicated, which is, can we get Hamas to simply lay down its arms, dismantle itself, and go quietly into the night? There, I think, it is probably unrealistic to expect them to do this willingly. Then comes the question after that, what kind of leverage do we have over Hamas to force them to do this short of another round of war? I think that’s what everyone seems to be asking themselves right now. For now, Donald Trump appears to be still rather sanguine about this, as is J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio. But I think the specifics about what comes next are still somewhat scant.
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All right, well, let’s talk about the role of Qatar and Turkey. I mean, I don’t see them as nonpartisan players here to ensure peace in Gaza. And if I were Prime Minister Netanyahu, as he has expressed, I agree with him. I wouldn’t want them near me, let alone in my country, on my border.
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Yeah, look, the prime minister is 100% right, and all of those expressing doubt about these two countries are fully justified. The reason being is that Qatar has been a sponsor of Hamas since roughly 2012. Billions of dollars handed over to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But I got to say, it’s not even that. These are supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide. They are sponsors of the Taliban. They’ve been providing safe haven to al-Qaeda and to the Islamic State. This is a full-on radical terrorist patron in the Middle East. And they also masquerade as allies of the United States. The Turks involved in a similar game. They have been sponsoring Hamas since roughly 2011. On top of that, they’ve been helping the Islamic State, allowing fighters to cross their border, selling the oil derived from the Islamic State before it collapsed. They’re major Muslim Brotherhood supporters. They’ve been involved with some of the al-Qaeda affiliate groups that have been ravaging the Middle East. These two countries are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and right now they have a seat at the table in Gaza. I don’t think that anything good comes of these two countries if they are allowed to play a role in post-Hamas Gaza politics or the reconstruction of society there. I think asking them to get involved likely means the return of Hamas, maybe just under a different name. Maybe nothing changes at all and they just try to buy for time.
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Well, we know what Erdogan’s ultimate goal is, to reestablish the Ottoman Empire. And Israel is in the way. I mean, he’s made that very clear. In fact, he vetoed, in effect, vetoed the presence of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Egypt at the Gaza Peace Summit.
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Yeah, and look, Erdogan is an extremely dangerous man. He’s been eviscerating Turkish democracy. He actually helped Iran evade sanctions at the height of that effort to thwart the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and pocketed huge amounts of money, and so did his family members as well. He is an Islamist to his core. He’s an anti-Semite. He’s anti-American. And again, this guy has no business having a seat at this table. But what’s interesting right now, and this is the big gamble that Donald Trump is trying to pull off right now. It’ll be fascinating to see if he can do it. High risk, high reward. He thinks he can co-opt Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He thinks that he can co-opt the strong man of Turkey. They have a good relationship. Erdogan seems to respect Donald Trump. Donald Trump seems to like him. I don’t think he has any illusions about what the Turks have been up to under Erdogan’s rule. The question is whether he can bring Erdogan to heel. And on that, I’m just not sure that this man is going to be willing to play ball. We may yet find a way to chicken wing and to strong arm Erdogan. But if we don’t, the price will be Gaza and it could be the return of Hamas.
SPEAKER 04 :
Jonathan, could it be the old adage, you know, keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
SPEAKER 12 :
Look, I think that is the mentality. And I think that bringing the Qataris into the tent also, it’s the same mentality. But I think there are some prices to pay here. Number one, Israel could pay a heavy price by allowing the Qataris and the Turks to set up a new radical network right on Israel’s border. We saw how that worked before. It didn’t end well. I don’t want to see this play out again. And I don’t think the rest of the Middle East does either. The other thing that we’re seeing is that some of America’s traditional allies, Israel’s allies, and maybe even future allies, and here I’m talking about the Emiratis and the Saudis, they’re wondering why is it that the United States has just offered Qatar and Turkey to play a role in the future of the Middle East and the future of the Gaza Strip? after engaging in bad behavior, when they were the ones that were playing by the rules, working with the United States, being good allies, and now they’re on the outside looking in. So our alliance structure right now is a little bit skewed. It’s a little tilted. And I think we’re going to have a little bit of work to do. This is not stuff that’s all insurmountable.
SPEAKER 04 :
That could also prompt bad behavior on others if bad behavior gets you a seat at the table. I mean, just today, a story coming out of JNS News is that Al Jazeera worked hand in glove with Hamas. Documents that were obtained by the Israeli defense forces show that there was a hotline from Al Jazeera, which is a media outsource basically funded by the Qatar government, to the Hamas terrorists. I mean, they were telling them what to say in their newscast.
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Yeah. And look, we’ve seen this for a long, long time now. Al Jazeera employs Hamas terrorists. Full stop. We’ve seen multiple indications of this throughout not just the last two years of war, but really over the last 20 years. Unless anybody think that this is just about Hamas or just about Gaza, Hamas Al Jazeera used to know exactly where the attacks against American soldiers were going to take place in locations in Iraq and Afghanistan. They somehow knew exactly where al-Qaeda or the Taliban were about to attack American soldiers, and they got it all on video. and they had people standing by to provide a dialogue or a discussion afterwards. It’s truly sick stuff what the Qataris have pulled off over the years. It’s remarkable to me that the United States has allowed this country to be elevated to the status of a major non-NATO ally. We need to revise the contract with this country, but certainly we should not be giving them a seat at the table if our goal is stabilization of the Middle East. These guys have done nothing but destabilize the Middle East for as long as I can remember.
SPEAKER 04 :
I would agree with you, Jonathan. I want to play a clip from CBS’s 60 Minutes where Jared Kushner was on this past weekend. Play clip number three, please.
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The biggest message that we’ve tried to convey to the Israeli leadership now is that now that the war is over, if you want to integrate Israel with the broader Middle East, you have to find a way to help the Palestinian people thrive and do better. How are you doing with that message? We’re just getting started. Is that the message?
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That’s the message coming out of Kushner and Witkoff and perhaps J.D. Vance, perhaps the president. I think there’s a lot of concern right now about trying to enlist the help of the Palestinian Authority. The guy who runs the Palestinian Authority is irredeemably corrupt. This is a man who’s been at the helm of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, since 2005. I mean, and this guy has pocketed American assistance. He has been funding the salaries of terrorists. He’s been paying for the families of terrorists who’ve been killed in action, blowing themselves up to kill Israelis. This guy has zero legitimacy. So I think that if the Trump administration wants to try to bring the Palestinian Authority into the tent, They’re going to need to think about revising the leadership structure of the Palestinian Authority first and foremost, establishing somebody at the helm who is interested in peace, who’s interested in coexistence. Right now, I don’t think that we see that. The only other thing that I would mention here is that it actually appears that Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner sat down with Khalil Al-Hayah. one of the top leaders still living from the Hamas organization. They met him in Qatar. This is a flagrant violation of American norms and policies. Our policy, dating back to the presidency of Richard Nixon, is not to negotiate with terrorists. We have done that here in order to get a deal done. And I think many Israelis are thankful. Many Americans are thankful. But I think we need to be really careful. And I think that’s kind of the theme, the message coming through here right now. This is it’s dangerous stuff that we’re doing. We are beginning to maybe revise some of our own rules in pursuit of a deal. And I question whether that’s a good idea.
SPEAKER 04 :
We just have about two minutes left, Jonathan. But speaking of this. We’re looking at Gaza, but should we also be looking at Judea and Samaria under the Palestinian Authority where we saw the 2,000 terrorists and others that were released into Judea and Samaria? I mean, is that a cauldron that is liable to erupt again like we saw in the first intifada?
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It is and it has been for quite some time. It’s always been on the precipice, and it’s a serious concern. The Israelis have found rockets in the West Bank in recent weeks and months. That’s something that we hadn’t seen before. The Iranians are bringing in weapons and cash and fighters by way of Jordan, which is Israel’s most poorest and longest border, and the Jordanians are not doing enough to stop it. The Israelis have talked about annexing parts of Judea and Samaria, and they’re finding a lot of pushback right now, not just from the Arab world, not just from the Europeans, but also from the Trump administration. I think Israel needs to move deliberately here. I’m not suggesting that they do anything rash, but I would say that there is a lot of concern right now about stability. about potential outbreaks and violence. And it’s, of course, raising the question of whether Israel should control this territory or whether somebody else should. I know the Israelis know, from their perspective anyway, that if they controlled this territory, they would have far fewer concerns about terrorism, about smuggling, and all the other challenges that have been reported in recent weeks and months.
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Well, Jonathan, you know, we had an American politician one time said, drill, baby, drill. I think we should annex, baby, annex. I think Israel needs to take as much as they can right now as they can for their own security and safety. Of course, they can’t bite off more than they can chew because they’ve got to keep control of it. But peace is an aspiration, but it’s going to take a lot of perspiration to get there. Jonathan, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate your insights.
SPEAKER 12 :
My pleasure, as always.
SPEAKER 04 :
And, folks, it is a matter of prayer, but I just think we need to go into this with eyes wide open. There is a history here. And even as Senator Marshall was talking earlier about our domestic issues and the spiritual warfare, there is intense spiritual warfare when we look at the Middle East. All right, out of time for today. Thanks for joining us. Until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, who says, you’ve done everything you can do, and you’ve prayed, prepared, and taken your stand. By all means, keep standing.
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