Josh McKean, a Congressman deeply invested in homeland security, joins Jody Heiss to provide his insights. They delve into Trump’s border policy and the immediate measures to change catch-and-release practices. McKean heralds Trump’s focus on maintaining law and order as foundational to national governance and security.
Exploring the topical issue of preemptive pardons, Hans von Spakowski from the Heritage Foundation offers a legal perspective on Biden’s unprecedented last-minute pardons. Questions arise about the long-term implications this has on presidential powers and the potential for misuse.
Larry Taunton joins from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, providing an outside geopolitical lens on Trump’s anti-globalist stance. He recounts the reactions he has gauged at the forum and what these mean for global power dynamics and the American role on the world stage. The forum, he notes, clings nervously to failing globalist ideals as Trump draws focus back to national priorities.
Trump’s return is marked by a strong pivot back to specific policy priorities. Travis Weber helps dissect executive orders focusing on foreign aid and involvement with the World Health Organization. These measures are a testament to Trump’s America First agenda and his careful reconsideration of aligning U.S. foreign aid with domestic values and interests.
As Trump navigates these rocky waters, Washington Watch is keen on keeping readers and viewers informed about the administration’s actions and their broader consequences. With an energized focus on religious freedom, fiscal responsibility, and national sovereignty, there is a palpable sense that Trump’s actions are setting forth a new chapter in American politics.
Today, renowned guests like Hans von Spakowski and Larry Taunton weigh in on the sudden shifts in U.S. policy and global reactions. Explore the implications of recent pardon decisions and what it means for long-term governance as the Trump administration sets new precedence.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 10 :
Well, good afternoon and welcome to this Tuesday edition of Washington Watch. Thanks so much for being a part of the program. I'm Jody Heiss, a senior vice president here at the Family Research Council and president of FRC Action. And I am filling in today for Tony as he was unable to get in due to inclement weather. He should be back in the seat tomorrow. So, again, welcome to the program. We've got a lot to cover. President Donald Trump wasted no time on his first day back in the office yesterday. He signed a wave of executive orders in both the Oval Office as well as at the Capital One Arena, where thousands of Trump supporters gathered following his inauguration.
SPEAKER 09 :
The first item that President Trump is signing is the rescission of 78 Biden-era executive actions, executive orders, presidential memoranda, and others.
SPEAKER 10 :
By the way, Capital One Arena is literally just a few steps away from the D.C. Office of Family Research Council. And what an incredible start he had. Travis Weber will be joining me to unpack some of those executive orders. And also we'll be discussing some of the executive orders that we would like to see the president sign in coming days. And then I'll also be joined in a little while by Oklahoma Congressman Josh McKean to get his take on some of those executive orders, including the one to end the weaponization of government against political adversaries. Of course, this is something that the Biden administration was notorious for, even as it claimed that justice was blind. And speaking of justice, if the two-tiered system of justice we saw during the Biden administration was not already crystal clear, now the former president added an exclamation point to all of that. You may have heard about this, but literally just 22 minutes before leaving the office with preemptive pardoning of his family members, he signed 22 minutes before he left office. Even many Democrats were critical of that move.
SPEAKER 12 :
I'm not a fan of these pardons, right? I wish he didn't feel that he needed to do that. It's a shame that this has happened, but I'm not a fan of the pardons because now the precedent is set.
SPEAKER 10 :
That was Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz yesterday during a CBS News interview. So what is the precedent that former President Biden has set? That's a huge question, and I'll be joined later by Heritage Foundation's Hans von Spakowski to discuss that important issue. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is holding its 55th annual gathering. And how will the new Trump administration affect the conversations that will be going on there? Well, Larry Taunton will be joining me from there and just a little bit later in the program to discuss that. So as usual, we've got a lot coming your way, no lack of news to report, and we want to bring as much of it as we can. If you happen to miss any portion, of course, the website, TonyPerkins.com, you want to keep that handy as both this and multiple other programs are available there for you. So keep that website handy, TonyPerkins.com. All right, let's jump into the top stories for today. It's only day two of the second Trump administration, and his White House's website already has five pages, five pages filled with various executive orders that he's already signed from yesterday. So which orders did he sign? And how will he be working with Congress to execute his agenda? These are important questions. And joining me now to discuss this and more is Congressman Josh Burkine. He's a member of the Homeland Security Committee as well as the Budget Committee, and he represents the 2nd Congressional District of the great state of Oklahoma. Congressman Burkine, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you, my friend. Thanks, Charlie. Good to be with you. All right. So we have lots and lots and lots of executive orders that have already taken place and signed by President Trump. It's just day two. So what were some of the most pressing ones that he needed to address as soon as possible that he jumped on?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, look, I think that energy dominance, a return to that, and the number of executive orders that are trying to return us back to common sense so that we'll utilize the gold that's under the ground, as he likes to call it, versus things that are unreliable and that often take taxpayers to subsidize tax collection of monies, then to prop up industries like wind and solar. Sadly, that's where this administration has been moving, and Trump is correcting that. And then, of course, the border issue. the number of executive orders to end the catch and release. By law, the Immigration and Nationality Act says that they are to be detained until there is a decision, an adjudication, and this administration has opened up the floodgates of catching them, released them in the interior, and the professionals call that notice to disappear. It used to be known as notice to appear for a court hearing. They flippantly call it notice to disappear, and we all know what that implies. And then, you know, up to 12 years, these people are going to be embedded and then hide when they know that their asylum claim is fraudulent anyways. Why not just break one more law in addition to coming in illegally? In addition to that, you've also got the Remain in Mexico policy, widely popular. The physical barriers that by executive order, Biden stepped in a few days after taking office and by his pen, like a king, He overrode the will of Congress, who had voted, and it was signed into law previously, for 200 mile of physical barriers. Biden took his pen and unconstitutionally undid that. President Trump is restoring what we all know to be truth. Physical barriers work. Senator Biden said that 10 years ago. I'm quoting him almost verbatim. When he was a senator, Joe Biden said, the reason why we like physical barriers and we employ them is because of the drugs that are coming in between the pores. ports of entry. And then just the myriad of 60 plus different decisions that this administration will have to undo, that's how many decisions that by his pen Biden created havoc in the largest mass importation of illegals coming across our southern border. And so we're not done.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wow. You mentioned so many issues there. I wish we could kind of go one by one through all of that. But you prefaced it all by talking about common sense. That seemed to be such a major underpinning of everything from yesterday. It's like, let's return to common sense, which obviously implies, and we've all seen it. We've watched it for the last four years. It seems as though every major decision that the Biden administration made put forth was based on just the opposite of common sense. So what are you anticipating as we go forward? I mean, you just mentioned a lot of things that President Trump already has implemented and signed executive orders, reversing a lot of things. What are you kind of a 30,000 foot view anticipating the next four years under the Trump administration, particularly as it relates to just common sense? What can we expect?
SPEAKER 02 :
I think you can expect the contrast. You know, I think we all watched as whatever President Trump was for previously as 45. This administration just prior to him coming in as 47 was the contrast came in and undid every bit of that. Now, President Trump is coming back in and reversing it all. And I look forward to seeing that happen. I would love to see us lock in once and for all. the Article 1 powers that say, you know, you as a former member of the House know well that all legislative powers can be vested in the Congress. So we didn't have this constant ping pong battle of Democrat versus Republican utilizing executive orders when our founders would have said that's never where we intended. But the president has no choice. Biden has created these problems all by executive order, specifically to the border I'm referencing. And so President Trump has to come back in, undo those. I'd like to see us right-size our government back to constitutional bounds. I say this often. George Washington issued eight executive orders. And now we're at a place where, on average, every president is having to issue 200 or more in the last 20 and 30 years. We need to return back to a place to where this is not constantly occurring and where we can have stability.
SPEAKER 10 :
I think that is an excellent, excellent point, Congressman Burkine. What's it going to take to get there? What type of action does Congress need to put forth to reassert the authority that the Constitution gave it and that over the years has been surrendered to the White House?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Jody, we've all heard the term parchment barriers. It's kind of a founding father era discussion where they said, if you have people that aren't really in their hearts beholden to integrity, these things we write down by law, they're just parchment barriers. The Magna Carta written in 1215 was just a parchment barrier. Many kings that came after began to not abide by it. As John Adams in our founding era said, we will be a nation of laws, not a nation of men. And so we've got to return there. Article 1, Section 1, all legislative powers to be vested in the Congress is sufficient. But sadly, we've had Supreme Court decisions that do not abide by that. And so I actually am working on something. It's called the Bridal Act. Kat Kamik's got a measure called the Rains Act that would put bureaucracy back into a place of restraint. And there's actually a place in the federalist papers that talk about the whole reason that the founders had impeachment was it was to be a bridle in the hands of the legislative bodies to be used upon the executive servants of the government. And in tandem with that, George Mason, founding father, he and the Constitutional Convention said, we've got to add this term, high crimes and misdemeanors, Because there's only treason and bribery until George Mason insisted upon that. If you go back and look at that discussion, he said, because we'll have people who won't abide by the Constitution. And the parchment barrier won't keep them from doing things that integrity should. And so I'm working on a measure, again, called the Bridal Act that would put a lockdown, kind of like what the RAINS Act does for federal agencies, and try to apply it to executive action. And my team is working on that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Sounds like an outstanding piece of legislation in advance. Thank you for your leadership on that. We certainly want to be keeping a pulse on it as it goes forward. We've only got a couple of minutes left here. How do you anticipate the Republican Party, the majority, now both in the House and the Senate, to work with the White House on President Trump's priorities?
SPEAKER 02 :
Look, I look forward to so many of the things that he's talked about. Of course, anybody from Oklahoma too knows that I have extensively been so concerned when I talk to Oklahomans about our deficit spending. And the highlight to me is Russ Vogt at OMB. And Russ is someone that has been a champion in the past under the Trump administration of trying to right-size government spending. And I just had a conversation with the incoming Treasury Secretary nominee. And I know Russ is in those conversations. That excites me. We've got to have people that are paying attention to the bond market and understand what's happening when we're trying to go and make sure people want to invest in the full faith and credit because of the deficit spending, because we've gone from AAA to AA plus of two of the three rating agencies that are notable. And we have a problem because investors, when they have a choice between us or Australia, are wondering, this is a sad reality right now, they are wondering, will America make good on its promise? Will this bond be really what it's designed to be, a full return on my investment? And so we've got to stabilize that. We've got to make sure we're in our 10-year securities. We get back into a range that is not costing us $950 billion. When you hear people talk about our interest payments costing more than what we spend on veterans, our defense, our total defense, flush down the toilet, just interest payments, you know in your era, we were running $300 billion on interest payments because of a much better interest environment.
SPEAKER 10 :
Congressman Josh Birkin, thank you so much for joining us on Washington Watch. Wow, it's going to be an exciting time. Thank you for your leadership on it. All right, friends, don't go anywhere. We've got a lot more to cover, specifically all these terrible preemptive pardons. We'll be back in a moment.
SPEAKER 07 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we're making an eternal impact. 2024 has been another year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, D.C. This fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. washington watch with tony perkins parked a major milestone this year its 900th episode and added the washington watch news desk a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview the washington stand published 2 000 articles of news commentary and podcasts in 2024 garnering over 5 million views FRC's outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere, the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God's intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel's peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government, Launching in January 2025, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us for another year of standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 10 :
Well, good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm your host, Jody Heiss. An honor to be sitting in today for Tony, who should be back in the saddle tomorrow. But thank you for being a part of the program today. All right, just 22 minutes before he left office yesterday, former President Joe Biden issued preemptive, unconditional pardons for his siblings and their spouses, blanket immunity. for any non-violent offenses they might have committed since 2014. It's just stunning. This move was not only criticized by Republicans, but also Democrats.
SPEAKER 12 :
It's a shame that this has happened, but I'm not a fan of the pardons because now the precedent is set from now into the future. Four years from now, I mean, it's a long time from now, obviously, but if President Trump feels that he wants to pardon his family on the way out the door, right, now Democrats can't say anything about that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wow. So what precedent literally has been set through all of this? Well, joining me now to discuss this is Hans von Spakovsky. He's a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. Previously, Hans worked at the Justice Department as counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Hans, welcome back to Washington Watch. We really appreciate you coming on. Sure. Thanks for having me. All right. So let's just begin with this. What can you tell us exactly who was pardoned with this last ditch effort 22 minutes before leaving office? Who was pardoned and what were they pardoned for?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, basically, it was the Biden family. Everyone and anyone who may have been and probably was involved in earning the $20 million from foreign sources that has been a subject of investigation, as you know, by the U.S. House for quite a while. And no crimes were specified. The pardon basically says any and all crimes that they might or could be charged with during that specific period of time. This is unprecedented. I don't think this has ever happened in our entire history. Pardons and commutations are given to people who have already been indicted and convicted. AND SO WE'VE NEVER HAD THIS BEFORE. ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW WHO ACTUALLY MADE ONE OF THE BEST COMMENTS ABOUT THIS? WAS PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN. HE WAS ACTUALLY INTERVIEWED IN Because back then, people were saying that outgoing President Donald Trump might do this. And he criticized this, saying, you know, the whole world looks at our legal system. This would create a terrible precedent and, in essence, would make people lose faith in the adherence of our country to the rule of law. And he said he would never do it. That tells you a lot about Joe Biden, doesn't it?
SPEAKER 10 :
It certainly does. So, all right, I've just got to ask you, this has been so disturbing to me. Is the president actually allowed to do this? And what I know, I know the president can pardon, but... What you just brought up, here we have a part of people who have not been convicted, have not been charged, not been indicted. It's just kind of a blanket immunity. If they ever did anything, does this not set potentially a stage where any administration can come in and direct whatever criminal activity to take place to accomplish whatever crime whatever administration may want to accomplish, and then just basically say, don't worry about it. We're just going to give everybody an immunity when it's all said and done. Is that kind of precedent a real potential threat?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, that is exactly what it does, and that's why this should not have been done. Unfortunately, there's really not much that can be done about it. If you look at the president's pardon power in the Constitution, it's Article II, Section 2, it's virtually unlimited. And we've never had this happen before because, quite frankly, I don't think we've ever had a president as corrupt as Joe Biden and his family. And so it never occurred to anyone to do something like this. And there were never circumstances that led to this kind of thing happening. But it does set a terrible precedent. Future presidents could use this. to immunize all kinds of illegal criminal behavior. And I don't think that's the kind of country we want to be living in.
SPEAKER 10 :
No, absolutely not. So what needs to take place, what can take place to put a stop to this now to ensure that this type of thing is not a possibility in the future? I mean, like you said, we can't live in a country where we potentially have corrupt administrations that they can then cover up the behavior with a pardon.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, there's a couple of things to remember here. The only way you could change this is to, frankly, amend the Constitution. You'd have to amend the pardon power and put some limitations on it. But keep in mind, like I said, a couple of things. This only extends to federal crimes, okay? A president cannot pardon anyone for state crime. So if a state crime has been committed, these members of his family could still be prosecuted. The other thing it does is it doesn't hamper transparency and public disclosure through continued investigations by Congress. If the House wants to continue its investigation of the Biden family, and frankly, their skullduggery with these wealth transactions profiting off of the official positions of Joe Biden as the prior vice president, the one thing this does is take away the ability of any member of the Biden family, if they're subpoenaed, to come testify from asserting their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination because they've been pardoned. So they can't raise a Fifth Amendment defense. They have to answer questions. And that kind of investigation could hopefully lead, like I said, to more disclosure of the shenanigans that the Biden family engaged in.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wow. Well, that's encouraging to hear that, number one, this only applies to federal crimes, not state crimes. So there's probably something there if the investigations want to go further and that the investigations of Congress are not hampered. by this. Great, great points. Thank you so much, Hans von Spasskowski, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Always great to see you, and we're deeply grateful for you unpacking what's happening here. Thank you, sir.
SPEAKER 15 :
Sure. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 10 :
Always good to. All right, friends. Wow. We've got a lot happening in this program and there's a lot more still to come. After the break, I'm going to be joined by Larry Taunton, who is going to be joining us from Switzerland. Yes, he's at the World Economic Forum. And how has the new Trump administration affected the global conversations going on there? Well, that's up next. So stick around. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC's internship apart from others is they are looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you.
SPEAKER 04 :
I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned. other places and they're responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that. But here we get real hands on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of.
SPEAKER 08 :
Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that's not all. They're also engaged in our government. They're voters. They're more likely to be involved in their community, and they're making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That's S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 10 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm your host today, sitting in for Tony. I'm Jody Heiss. Yesterday, on his first day back in office, President Trump took aim at the globalist institutions. like the World Economic Forum, for one. He signed an executive order that underscores his administration's stance against policies that these elites seem to champion. And, of course, Trump has long criticized the forum for advancing agendas that, in his view, undermine our national sovereignty and agendas that impose unfair economic burdens on American taxpayers. And as part of this push, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing, yes, withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, which he and many others have criticized for its weak enforcement mechanisms and disproportionate demands that it has on the U.S., especially when you compare to countries like China. So what does this mean for Trump? environmental policies? What does it mean for global leadership and the growing influence of institutions like the World Economic Forum? Well, joining me now to break it all down is Larry Taunton. He's the executive director of the Fixed Point Foundation. Larry, welcome back to Washington Watch, and thank you for joining us from Switzerland.
SPEAKER 11 :
It's a pleasure to be with you.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right. So what are you hearing and what are you learning from the World Economic Forum so far? And specifically, how does it all align with or conflict with the priorities that the Trump administration has?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, let me begin by saying something about my strategy here. Now, you have a variety of reporters, conservative and otherwise, who are here, and they're here with their news teams, with their camera crews, and they are ambushing, in some cases, some of the people who are speaking at the forum. My approach is completely different. I just pretend to be a weffer. That's what they call themselves, weffers. They refer to the meeting itself as the weff. And I just walk into every building like I own it and sit and listen to what they're saying. And the result of that is they tend to speak to you much more freely and openly. And I would say that this year, this is my third year in a row to attend, that what you're hearing is panic.
SPEAKER 10 :
Because of Trump? Panic because of what specifically?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, the globalist agenda, yes, because of Trump, the globalist agenda hangs by a thread. And that is because the United States has really been the keystone to the globalist agenda. If the US falls, all other smaller boats are swamped. And we, of course, have been trending in that direction. But in November, that all took a massive swing in yet another direction. And of course, in the last 24 hours, Donald Trump has been inaugurated as president of the United States. And so far, he's done the things that he said he was going to do. And that is chiefly not simply take a... let's just say, a non-globalist position. He has taken a fierce anti-globalist position. And they see that as though he's some sort of hayseed and backward and somebody who just really doesn't understand what's good for mankind. But the World Economic Forum really isn't concerned with mankind. They're all about saving the planet and, of course, power.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yep. And Trump, you're exactly right. I mean, Trump, he recognizes that these elites, as you just described them, they have their own agenda. They have their own interests. And that cuts against our own national sovereignty and our own economic freedom and sovereignty. Trump is just pushing back majorly against, and we saw it yesterday. So how does Trump's approach challenge the influence of institutions like the forum? I mean, you said they're panicking, but this is going to, the United States carries so much of the weight behind these. And now that we're, you know, cutting it off, that's going to be a major challenge for them to overcome, won't it?
SPEAKER 11 :
Absolutely. I mean, let's just take one issue, one that I have spoken about on this show before, and that's immigration. As Tony would know and others involved with Washington Watch, I have been tracking, following, accompanying some of the caravans that have been making their way to the United States border from all over South America through Darien Gap up to Mexico City and then ultimately to the last jump off to the U.S. border. Now, how does that relate to the WEF? Well, you see, the WEF, globalist as they are, they're all on board with the whole open society agenda, which essentially means open borders. And so Trump coming into office, what is the first thing that he says he's going to do? He's going to close the borders. and he's going to enforce a sensible immigration policy. Well, just an issue like that is, I mean, that's just one of many. That issue imperils their agenda. And part of their agenda in open borders is destabilization of a country like the United States and to change overnight the social, political, and infrastructural nature of the United States. And yet here's Trump who comes along and says, not only am I not a globalist, I'm an American patriot. And we're not going to have any more of this kind of nonsense. So you can imagine the kind of panic that is felt at a place like the World Economic Forum. Now, they're all trying to pretend like whistling through the graveyard like this maybe isn't, this is just perhaps a blip on their radar. But of course, it's a great deal more than that, and they know it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wow. Oh, and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord also. I mean, it's just huge. Yeah, huge stuff here. Well, listen, Larry, I want to thank you so much for joining us. We're definitely going to have to bring you back and discuss some of this some more as all of this unfolds. There's so much taking place. But Larry Taunton, executive director of Fixed Point Foundation, thank you so much for joining us on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 11 :
Absolutely. It's always good to see you guys. Thanks for having me. You guys take care and keep up the good work.
SPEAKER 10 :
You too. All right, friends, much more coming your way on Washington Watch. Don't go anywhere. We'll be back in just a moment.
SPEAKER 14 :
Hello, I'm Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But you know, the Bible talks about four institutions of government. You know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this saying separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn't be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 03 :
All of us are born with the desire to find truth and meaning. Where did I come from? What happens when I die? While our answers to these questions may divide us, we are united in our need for the freedom to answer life's biggest questions and make life's biggest decisions for ourselves. That's why religious freedom matters for everyone. Religious freedom matters because the powerful have long wanted to control those who are less powerful. Religious freedom matters because the freedom of those who are different is often threatened by those who believe different is dangerous. Leah Sharibu, a Christian teenager in Nigeria, remains a captive of Boko Haram for her refusal to renounce her Christian faith. Chinese pastor Wang Yi is serving a nine-year sentence for speaking publicly against the Chinese government. In Pakistan, Asif Pervez is on death row for allegedly sending a blasphemous text message. All of this because people in power decided different is dangerous. at the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council. We promote religious freedom for everyone because the only alternative is religious freedom for no one. We encourage Americans and the American government to engage and advocate for the persecuted, and they do. We work every day to bring good news to the afflicted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. We do it because that's what Jesus does. We work to give freedom to others because we, ourselves, have been set free.
SPEAKER 10 :
Good afternoon. Welcome back. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm your host, Jody Heiss, sitting in today for Tony, who should be back in the saddle tomorrow. Before I go to my next guest, I want to, again, encourage you to get involved with moving important policies forward during this new Trump administration. And, friends, we have a tool for you that's going to enable you to do just that. So I want to encourage you to get our first 100 days toolkit. Now, this toolkit is going to equip you with the tools you need to find out your members of Congress. to support key legislation, to get insights on nominees, how to pray effectively, and so much more. Friends, there's nothing else like this out there. And you have an opportunity right now to access the first 100 days toolkit. You can do so by simply texting the word toolkit, that's one word, T-O-O-L-K-I-T, toolkit, to 67742. I encourage you, get your toolkit, and let's all be involved in helping this 100 days be all that it can be. All right. Yesterday, on his first day back in office, President Trump wasted no time. As you know by now, He signed a wave of executive orders aimed at fulfilling key campaign promises and at the same time reversing policies from the Biden administration. And earlier in the program, of course, we discussed some of the executive orders that he's already signed. And while we cannot in any way cover them all, we do want to highlight certain ones that address specific concerns that we have here at the Family Research Council. So joining me now to unpack some of them is Travis Weber. He's vice president for policy and government affairs here at FRC. Travis, thanks so much for joining me today on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 13 :
Jody, it's good to be with you.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right. So we've got a batch of executive orders. It's quite in contrast, if you will, from the Biden administration, whose officials literally struggled to define what a man and a woman are. Correct. I mean, we're going in a different direction right now.
SPEAKER 13 :
No, Jody, we really are. President Trump has wasted no time in rolling out a number of executive actions starting yesterday, and I expect we'll see more in the days to come. These actions are focused on what we might expect, areas that he's highlighted a lot during the campaign, law and order, national security, the border. the economy, but there's also an overriding sense of kind of resetting and realigning America to where she should be. I think many will feel that America's gotten off the rails in recent years. We've been a nation in decline as as our leaders, including the Biden administration, have led us languished and have failed to effectively lead the nation where we should be going. And so, you know, a lot of President Trump's actions are resetting or starting the process of resetting America on the course she should be. And that comes in the areas economy, energy, you know, resetting America first priorities at home, but also abroad. There's a couple executive orders that have been issued regarding international matters, foreign affairs. And one of those is making sure that we have an America first foreign policy, one that serves our interest and not the interest of diplomats or elite global circles to the detriment of the American people who do not know what is being discussed by those who are supposed to be representing them. you know one area is is the world health organization so he's president trump has now issued an order saying that he intends to start the process of withdrawing from the world health organization a process he started in his first term that biden reversed and now trump's going to start once again and so um you know this is an issue that's that is familiar to many we were at the world health assembly in geneva last may where we were tracking the pandemic agreement which is concerning from the perspective of sovereignty being eroded as global bodies, including the World Health Organization, aggregate power to themselves. So hopefully this will be a reset in this area of the World Health Organization and other UN entities, in addition to resets of other areas like foreign aid, foreign policy, which we'll see implemented in the days to come.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, and I want to talk about some of those, but there's no doubt, Travis, FRC has been closely tracking the World Health Organization, particularly since COVID. And quite frankly, so many have contacted us and been in touch with us. It seems like the whole country is concerned about the World Health Organization. No doubt the U.S. has been... propping it up in many ways for a long, long time. So as President Trump now comes in beginning the process, as you describe, of resetting and really starting the process of withdrawing us from the World Health Organization, what impact would that have both on the United States and on the World Health Organization as a whole?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, well, the WHO put out a statement saying that they're disappointed in the president's decision. The US is a massive funder of the WHO. Their own livelihood is on the line. But that should help them see clearly that they need to pay attention to what the United States is the U.S. perspective on the WHO and what it wants to do. This is part of the problem, Jody. We have these bodies like the WHO. They're designed for a purpose that no one would really argue with. We need to have nations have a mechanism to prevent diseases that cross borders. Okay, a lot of people will get that. But then it goes off the rails at some point. under COVID, what we saw were abuses by governments in the areas of freedom, religious freedom, free speech. There were a lot of censorship and individual rights were suppressed in many places globally. And instead of that being a topic that's discussed at the World Health Assembly, they're discussing what they could do to increase their power, increase their ability to exert control over the next policy response, which is going to be named in the name of safety, but it's control. And the discussions of rights and freedom and the violations of THE WHO POLICIES WERE IMPLEMENTED. WE'RE NOT DISCUSSED AT ALL. SO, YOU KNOW, JODY, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THEY NEED THE PEOPLE AT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND BODIES LIKE THAT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'RE ACCOUNTABLE TO THOSE WHO ARE FUNDING THEM, THOSE WHO ARE GRANTING THEM THEIR AUTHORITY. It's nation states who've agreed to the WHO, who are part of the WHO, including the U.S. So Trump is going to withdraw. And certainly there are going to be discussions. Part of the WHO executive order says that the means or the ends to which the WHO, the goals of the WHO, in so many words, there are other ways we can accomplish what we are trying to do in the WHO. So this is going to be an important discussion. And it's going to be important for us to continue to have to watch what's happening, though, because we don't want the same violations, same sovereignty erosions to take place in another way.
SPEAKER 10 :
Absolutely. You also mentioned a moment ago, if we can transition on the topic of foreign aid, there's no question President Trump has had his eye on the foreign aid that the Biden administration has been doling out. So what does the Trump executive order on foreign aid do?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, so Jody, this just pauses foreign aid for a period of time until the whole system can be reformed. And I think this is really welcome because I just want to actually read from this order. I have it in front of me here. It says that U.S. foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values. They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse of to harmonious and stable relations internal to those countries. And so this makes an important point. Certainly this language is getting at what we have been doing over the past number of years promoting LGBT ideology and gender ideology, radical abortion positions, climate positions globally, including in places that are repelled by our insistence on pushing these policies on them, places like Africa and Eastern Europe, and places that were also competing with China. So we're shooting ourselves in the foot by promoting these ideologies in these places. So certainly this language is getting at Guys, we need to stop this. Let's pause. Let's reassess. Is U.S. foreign aid serving American interests? And certainly with this 90 day pause in U.S. foreign aid that the executive order articulates, we hope to see instead of. you know, bad policies, which we need to see a rollback, a de-woking of our foreign policy gets us back to neutral. In place of that, we want to see foreign aid used to promote values that serve our interest in being a beacon to the world, a shining city on a hill, promoting true human rights, freedom, religious freedom, and life and family, and family flourishing everywhere we can see fit. So, Jody, that's my hope and prayer for what will happen under this executive order.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right, so that's a great point. So it's both and. So in addition to President Trump having executive orders getting rid of some bad programs, some, in this case, bad foreign aid programs, there were also some good foreign aid programs that the Biden administration stopped, put a hold on, that probably President Trump should restore. Any comment on that?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, well, so we had in the last administration, there was a large effort to promote religious freedom globally. And this was so well received and so needed by those suffering persecution around the world for their faith, Christians and others. And the ministerial to advance religious freedom that was run in the State Department is an example of this. There were human rights efforts, efforts that expanded and displayed globally the founding ideals of America. You know, we're coming up on the 250th anniversary of American independence. And so, Jody, this is an opportunity to bring some of those out again, bring them into the light so that America may be a blessing both to its people at home, but to all people who desire freedom around the world.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, looking ahead, let me just put this. I actually had Congressman Josh Perkin on with me a little bit earlier in the program, and he actually mentioned the Mexico City policy. So looking ahead, I mean, no doubt there's going to be a number of additional executive orders that are going to find their way to President Trump's desk. And one of those may be the Mexico City policy. So tell us about that. First of all, explain real quickly what the Mexico City policy is. And do you, by any way, maybe expect that to happen this week? Is that one of those going to be a priority?
SPEAKER 13 :
We hope so. You know, certainly this one falls within the spirit of what President Trump's already articulated with resetting foreign aid, resetting foreign policy priorities. And it's one that he issued the first time around. President Biden revoked it. AND WE HOPE HE ISSUES IT AGAIN. WHAT IT SAYS IS U.S. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE SHOULD GO TOWARDS PROTECTING AND PROMOTING LIFE AROUND THE WORLD, SHOULD NOT BE USED TO PROMOTE ABORTION. AND SO THIS ALSO FITS WITHIN THIS DEWOKING OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY. WE SHOULD NOT BE PUSHING ABORTION ON ANY COUNTRY. And it's even more egregious when it's done in a way, done in these countries that are saying we don't want this and feel coerced by America. So that Mexico City policy executive order is one that is a healthy and needed part of what we already saw started by the president yesterday with this resetting foreign aid executive order. And I do hope it's issued again because many countries around the world, including African countries, including countries in Eastern Europe who do not want to be coerced by the U.S., WOULD BENEFIT FROM THE CLARITY THAT EXECUTIVE ORDER BRINGS, WHICH THE ORDER BASICALLY PROVIDES THAT U.S. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FUNDS CANNOT GO TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROMOTE OR PERFORM ABORTIONS OVERSEAS. IT SHOULD BE A NO-BRAINER, BUT UNFORTUNATELY BIDEN WAS INSISTENT ON AND HIS ADMINISTRATION INSISTENT ON PUSHING this around the world. So we hope President Trump will be part of de-woking our foreign policy. We need to put that in place again and see that no U.S. taxpayer dollars are pushing abortion on foreign countries. In addition, we should not be pushing LGBT ideology, any social policies that are offensive to these local cultures of these countries around the world.
SPEAKER 10 :
De-woke. De-woke. I love that. That kind of puts it all in perspective right there in one simple term. All right, Travis Weber, are there any other executive orders that the president has signed or has promised to sign that you think would be of particular interest and concern to evangelicals?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, I mean, Jody, we've seen a number of good orders signed so far. In addition to the ones that I've already mentioned, there's one that also resets, you know, says the U.S. foreign policy should be an American first foreign policy. So we have some good foreign policy EOs. THERE'S ONE THAT CLARIFIES THAT MALE AND FEMALE BIOLOGICAL REALITY SHALL BE THE POLICY OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SO TRUMP HAS ROLLED BACK A NUMBER OF HARMFUL BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND HE ISSUED THIS BIOLOGICAL REALITY EXECUTIVE ORDER CLARIFYING THROUGHOUT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, EXECUTIVE The policy will be guided by the reality that we are male and female. So part of that order significantly also says that U.S. federal funds should not go to funding gender ideology. This is very significant because it gets at the question of how the U.S. tax dollar is being used. U.S. tax dollars should not be going to fund these ideologies at home or abroad. And so this is a very encouraging part of the executive order. We'll have to keep an eye on that to see that it's fully implemented. And certainly, in effect, this is a no taxpayer funding for gender ideology. executive order. So that's a very encouraging one. It's quite lengthy. There's other provisions in there mentioning the need to protect women in prisons and other contexts in which gender ideology has harmed women. Jody, there are a number of other orders dealing with a lot of law and order issues, national security issues, the border. I think helpfully really kind of putting America back on the rails to give us a chance, clear the rubble So the American people can live up to their potential, can exercise their freedom, and the American church can live out its role in a robust way, seeking to bless the country and pray for the country as President Trump kind of clears the way by clearing the pathway ahead.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you so, so much, Travis Weber, Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs here at FRC. Excellent information. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, Judy. All right, friends, you've heard a lot, and I want to encourage you, each of you, be praying for this next 100 days is critical. Thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch. Tony should be back in the chair tomorrow. Have a great evening. We'll see you.
SPEAKER 01 :
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