The episode continues with a deep dive into the conclusions of the Coronavirus Pandemic Select Subcommittee’s final report, featuring expert commentary from Dr. Robert Malone. We also preview a critical U.S. Supreme Court case concerning Tennessee’s SAFE Act, which aims to protect minors from gender surgeries and treatments. Congressman August Pfluger joins the show to outline the strategic priorities of the Republican Study Committee and what Americans can expect from the new Congress.
SPEAKER 10 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 14 :
We are watching the recent developments in the ROK with grave concern. We are seeking to engage with our Republic of Korea counterparts at every level, both here in the United States and in Seoul. And ultimately here, our hope is, and every hope and expectation is, that any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.
SPEAKER 07 :
That was State Department spokesman Vedant Patel commenting on South Korean President Yoon Seok-yool’s declaration of martial law today, which was subsequently overridden by a unanimous vote of the National Assembly. Welcome to Washington Watch. I’m your host, Tony Perkins, and it’s great to be back in the studio. Here’s what we’re covering today. Texas Congressman Nathaniel Moran will join us to discuss the unfolding situation in South Korea and its global implications. Also four years ago, President Biden pledged to unite the country. It appears that on his way out of office, he finally succeeded by uniting Republicans and Democrats in opposition to his blanket pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, after repeatedly insisting he wouldn’t do so. Meanwhile, his White House team is walking a fine line, claiming the president supports the Department of Justice while simultaneously contradicting that stance.
SPEAKER 02 :
Two things could be true. The president does believe in the justice system and the Department of Justice. And he also believes that his son was singled out politically.
SPEAKER 07 :
That was White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s comments yesterday aboard Air Force One. The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has released its final report. This 520-page document aims to shape future pandemic responses. Three areas of interest in particular are the origins of the virus, U.S. funding of gain-of-function research through nongovernmental organizations, and the failure of government mitigation efforts. Dr. Robert Malone will join us to unpack the report’s findings later on this edition of Washington Watch. And tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tennessee’s version of the SAFE Act. This is an act, a law that protects minors from transgender surgeries and experimental drugs. 26 states now have similar laws in place. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey will join us to preview key arguments that will be made for and against these protections tomorrow. And finally, while much of the attention has been on President-elect Trump’s pick for his next administration, Congress has selected its leadership for the 119th Congress that begins in January. Texas Congressman August Pfluger is the incoming chairman of the Republican Study Committee. He will share what the RSC’s priorities will be in the coming term. And here’s a reminder, today is Giving Tuesday. You’ve probably heard that. Well, you can partner with the Family Research Council and help us shine a light on biblical truth here in Washington, D.C. during this lame duck session of Congress and beyond. Now, FRC is standing as a watchman on our nation’s spiritual walls, protecting faith, family, and freedom. And thanks to a $50,000 challenge match, every dollar you give will be doubled today. So we have folks standing by to take your call. Give us a call, 800-225-4008. That’s 800-225-4008 to talk to one of the FRC team members standing by to take your call. Or you can visit our website, TonyBergens.com as well. All right. While there continues to be a lot of chatter over President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter over the weekend, easily overlooked amid the sound bites and knee jerk reactions can be just how significant the sweeping pardon is. No modern U.S. president. with maybe the exception of Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon, has ever issued such an absolution until Biden’s full and unconditional pardon of his son. Going back almost 11 years, Hunter Biden has effectively been given a free pass for any federal law he might have broken over the past 11 years. Now, what could the impacts of this pardon be? What message does it send? And what does this mean for the investigations that have been underway on the shady business practices of the Biden family? With me now to discuss this and more is Congressman Nathaniel Moran. He serves on three House committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. He represents the 1st Congressional District of Texas. Congressman Moran, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thanks, Tony. Great to be here. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving last week.
SPEAKER 07 :
I did. It was very good. And you?
SPEAKER 11 :
A fantastic Thanksgiving. Luckily, I got two turkeys correctly done before lunchtime.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey, that is an accomplishment. So let’s start, before we jump into the Hunter Biden situation, let’s touch on the issue in South Korea. How significant is this? The president there declaring martial law only having to retract it about six hours later after the National Assembly overruled him.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, this is really significant, and frankly, this is very concerning because we’re talking about a strategic ally in a very important region of the world for us, but an ally that has got a democratic basis to it, and we want to see the rule of law upheld. What President Yoon did is certainly concerning because martial law should be the very last thing that is resorted to, and as the facts roll in, boy, you wonder what was the foundational basis for this. I know he’s had a lot of opposition from Leader Lee’s party and a lot of internal struggles, leadership struggles as well. And you look back just a couple of years ago, when he got elected in 2022, he just won by a small margin, 1% over the opposition party. And he was, of course, the one pushing back against North Korea more than the other party. But Still, the other party controls about 192 of the 300 seats in the parliament there, and just about eight seats short of what they need to impeach President Yoon. And you wonder, really, was this a politically motivated move? Stunned on his part? Was this a politically motivated activity to reduce the influence of the opposition party and to try to quell the growing internal problems he’s having in his own party? I hope that was not the case, but certainly this is very concerning for a democratic Korea.
SPEAKER 07 :
It does when you look at what is included in the Declaration of Martial Law. This is basically all news and media publications are now under the control of the government. No political gatherings, no opposition, even the ability to crack down on fake news. I mean, this is, as you said, this is stuff we would expect from totalitarian governments. But when this starts to come into democracies, I think it’s something we should take note of.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, absolutely we should. And you’re exactly right when you’re talking about the rights of the people to associate with one another, to push back against the government. And we’ve talked about this here in America when the government begins to decide what is correct information and misinformation, that is a slippery slope that we do not want to go down here in America. And we don’t want to see our democratic partners around the world given to that. It’s an easy and susceptible pathway to go down to because governments want to tend to believe that they have the truth. But as we’ve already seen here, you’ve highlighted at the beginning of the hour about the about the COVID information that we got during the COVID time period. Government oftentimes is wrong and government should not be the purveyor of what is truth and what is not truth. We need to let free press and free expression of speech happen. And we want to see that happen with our democratic partners around the world too.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because we certainly would not want to see that happen here in the United States, regardless of what party might be in power. What allows us to do course corrections is when the American people have the full ability to express themselves and peacefully assemble and seek the redress of grievances that they have. We can do it at the ballot box, but there’s other times to do it as well. And it’s important that we protect those rights.
SPEAKER 11 :
Absolutely. That’s exactly. They’re essential and foundational to preserving the democratic institutions that we have here. And we need to make sure to reinforce that with our partners around the world, that they need to make clear that that’s going to be upheld in their own countries. Otherwise, the democratic processes there cannot be trusted.
SPEAKER 07 :
So let’s talk about here at home, Congressman Moran, about the pardoning of Hunter Biden. Now, presidential pardons are not new. Maybe a little different, pardoning your own son for criminal behavior that he both pled guilty to and was convicted of. But going back almost 11 years, that’s quite significant. Does this shake the trust in our government institutions?
SPEAKER 11 :
it should shake the trust in government institutions. But I don’t think anybody should be surprised by this pardon. Even when President Biden months ago was saying he promised he would not pardon his son, he promised to abide by the verdict. And then after the conviction reinforced that and said he promised to do it. And then we saw the press secretary again validating those statements and saying, listen, President Biden is not gonna let his son off the hook. He’s gonna embrace what the jury is gonna do. We knew then that those were false words. Anybody that was listening closely knew that that was not going to actually come to fruition. This should not be unexpected, but it should be shamefully received, because, truly, this just reinforces, I think, the Biden’s legacy of promoting a two-tiered justice system, of saying there is one level of justice for the Biden family, and there is a different level of justice for the rest of Americans, ordinary Americans, Because no other ordinary American would get this kind of treatment. And certainly a 10 year, 11 year, going back to January 1st, 2014, having as broad a scope as we’ve seen since really the Nixon pardon, saying whatever he’s done under federal law, he’s going to wipe away with a pardon. It’s atrocious to see that happen, and it’s equally atrocious to hear the excuses now for him to come out and say, well, you know, he was targeted because he was my son, and so he was specially targeted, so I’m going to give him special treatment. That’s not the case, and certainly nothing’s changed since August or July when he said and reaffirmed again, I promise I won’t pardon my son. If anything, Hunter Biden’s been given preferential treatment over the past decade, and here he gets another preferential hand.
SPEAKER 07 :
Speaking of the family, does this put other family members in jeopardy now that Hunter has this pardon? He cannot plead the fifth if he’s called to testify regarding other activities that the Biden family has been involved in.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, it is a legal conundrum for them at this point in that regard. But I do think that there was going to be some problems if perhaps he wasn’t given this pardon. When you’re looking at it from President Biden’s family standpoint, because without the pardon, he’s got incentive to go to the feds and say, hey, I’ve got more information on my family if you’ll let me out of jail. And given the lack of character that Hunter Biden has, I could have seen him doing that, throwing some of his family members under the bus specifically to get out. So you can argue one way or the other for which is the best benefit for the Hunter Biden family. But, truly, this is just more of a father protecting a son. And I bet you, if you trace him back to his childhood, this is what President Biden did from the very beginning. And that’s why Hunter grew up the way he did, believing that he could escape any consequences for his actions.
SPEAKER 07 :
Is this the last of it or is this something we’re going to hear more of even into the next Congress?
SPEAKER 11 :
I think you’re going to continue to hear more of it just generally as the Biden family gets exposed. And I think there will be more exposure of the bad deeds that they did, not just Hunter, but throughout the family itself. So you’re going to hear more about it. But certainly as the president, he has the sole authority to grant this pardon. And it’s unfortunate that he’s exercised this authority in such an abusive way.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I do think Congress should, and I hope they will continue to look at this because justice needs to be done no matter how long it takes. Congressman Nathaniel Moran, thanks so much for joining us. Always great to see you.
SPEAKER 11 :
My pleasure. Thanks, Tony. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 07 :
You too. All right. Don’t go away, folks. On the other side of the break, the Coronavirus Select Committee released its final report, 520 pages. We look at it next.
SPEAKER 06 :
The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it’s never gonna be on the ballot. He’s the King of Kings and He’s the Lord of Lords, and nothing’s gonna change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we’re to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
SPEAKER 07 :
America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10-week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, and prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You’ll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls. Text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation.
SPEAKER 16 :
Let’s not be discouraged. Don’t lose heart. Don’t lose the faith. Stand now strong because the Lord has given us the great privilege of living in a time when our choices matter, when our lives matter, when our courage matters. So let’s stand together and save this great country. God bless the United States of America.
SPEAKER 15 :
The American Republic has a freedom like no other. It has roots in the Scriptures.
SPEAKER 01 :
far more than any other heritage and if we as followers of jesus and conservatives don’t defend it who will neutrality is not an option there are many christians who believe that if we just keep our heads down if we just don’t say the wrong thing that that somehow we will come out of this unscathed you’re naive if you think that because what they want from us is not our silence What they want from us is our submission.
SPEAKER 03 :
Part of the dilemma of Christianity in our generation is that we’ve relied a little too much on human wisdom and human reasoning, human strength, human resource, and we’ve relied too little on the power of God and God’s ability to open doors that we can’t open and do things that we couldn’t even hope to begin to do.
SPEAKER 12 :
This may not be an easy task, But we are living in a moment of challenge, but also a great opportunity. And we know always that we are not alone, that His Spirit empowers us and protects us, and that He can do the unimaginable. Dobbs, after all, was never supposed to happen.
SPEAKER 07 :
Father, we thank you. You have entrusted us with this moment in history, and I pray that we would be found faithful and that as a result of our faithfulness to you, that thousands, millions would come into the kingdom as they would experience the forgiveness of sin and the new life that is found only in Jesus Christ. Amen. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. Hope you’re getting into the Christmas spirit. We’re going to help you here at Washington Watch, playing a little Christmas music. Well, today is Giving Tuesday, and we have members of the FRC team standing by to take your call. If you would like to partner with us, thanks to a $50,000 challenge match, every dollar you give will be doubled. So give us a call right now, 800-225-4008. That’s 800-225-4008. to talk with one of our team members. As I mentioned earlier, yesterday, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic concluded its two-year investigation into the COVID-19 pandemic and released a final 520-page report on the lessons learned and the path forward. Basically, how do we respond in the future? Well, what were the takeaways from the report and how will it help to protect the citizens of the United States, not only from the next pandemic, but also from the failed responses that we saw from government? Here now to discuss this, Dr. Robert Malone, chief medical and regulatory officer for the Unity Project. Dr. Malone is internationally recognized physician, scientist who specializes in advanced development of medical countermeasures to infectious diseases. Dr. Malone, welcome back to the program.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thanks for having me on, Tony. It’s an interesting time and an interesting report. It is.
SPEAKER 07 :
How thorough, before we go piece by piece, how thorough of a review was this of the pandemic, in your opinion?
SPEAKER 08 :
So there’s areas that it was quite thorough and aggressive, in part because it had the ability to subpoena and to hold classified hearings. There is a lot of concern and complaints that the committee did not delve into in particular the adverse events associated with the vaccine. This is revealed in part through the odd juxtaposition of a very strong endorsement of Operation Warp Speed immediately followed by a statement in the Committee’s summary that the vaccines were over-their effectiveness was overstated, their safety was understated, or it was not acknowledged, the adverse event profiles. there the committee specifically said that the vaccines were very ineffective in preventing infection and disease. So that juxtaposition of endorsement of Operation Warp Speed followed by a resounding lack of endorsement of the efficacy and safety of the vaccines is another thing that a lot of people find perplexing and speaks of a compromise within the committee and kind of the usual D.C. process of speaking out of both sides of one’s mouth.
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s like we got this thing done very quickly. It didn’t work, but we got it done.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, and it didn’t work, and it caused major health concerns, impacts. And that’s, you can pick that out, for instance, one of the other committee comments is that those that were harmed by the vaccine are not being efficiently and adequately compensated by the process. So there’s a lot of contradictions here. It clearly represents a consensus document after two years of arguing. We saw that arguing very clear in a number of the public testimonies, including with Dr. Fauci. But all in all, the comment also is, well, we knew all that stuff. We’ve heard it all for the last four years. Yeah, but you didn’t have an official congressional statement on that.
SPEAKER 07 :
For instance, the origins of COVID-19 appears that they’ve settled on the idea that it did come from the lab, something that was said at the very beginning and was refuted by those in government.
SPEAKER 08 :
And you’ve cited the CNN report on this topic in which CNN is still dug in on natural origin and is denying and obfuscating the importance of the committee’s decisions and conclusions regarding the laboratory origin. But throughout much of the world, this is considered to be the The truth is that this was an engineered virus, and as the Committee correctly points out, it has characteristics that are not found in nature, and it has the characteristics of a single point of emergence into the population at Wuhan adjacent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
SPEAKER 07 :
Let’s talk about the mitigation efforts that were undertaken by the government in particular, you know, distancing, masking. You mentioned the vaccines. They came to the conclusion that most of us in America realized very early those things didn’t work.
SPEAKER 08 :
They did. And they also were quite critical of the governor of New York, Cuomo. And the actions that he took in the context of the elderly and the nursing homes, and there’s indications that that was a that’s been referred to. The committee did endorse in a soft and squishy way. Aspects of the testing program that was done as a public private partnership. Well, acknowledging that the testing had significant problems. So it’s clearly an attempt here to be fair and balanced and to take into consideration the positions of the minority.
SPEAKER 07 :
The big question is, will this have the impact of preventing the failed attempts that were taken during COVID-19 if any future pandemic arises?
SPEAKER 08 :
Forgive my cynicism on that. I don’t see the federal government at this point in time taking these suggestions in and acting appropriately to respond to them. This should be a very active lessons learned. and their openness and transparency. We’re not seeing that. And unless Mr. Kennedy is confirmed and his appointments are successful in moving forward transparency and accountability, I very much doubt we’re going to see it. And you can see that As many of the same players are now ramping up. Fear about. the avian influenza. Right. Sorry about that. We had a little bit of a glitch. Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
So we’re almost out of time here, but I think one of the things that should happen is under the next administration, the same leaders in Congress should push this forward, making sure that these findings are in fact taken into consideration when policies are shaped by the next administration. Dr. Malone, out of time. Thanks for joining us. Always great to see you. Always appreciate your input. Thank you, Tony. Well, that is something I think we need to stay on. And we’re going to continue to talk about that, even though this is the final report. We need to make sure it goes somewhere. As Dr. Malone said, he’s right to be cynical because government rarely learns its lessons. Don’t go away. More after this. It begins here and here and here. Every day. Before you stand, you need solid ground. Standing in a culture that wants you to surrender the truth won’t work unless you have a firm foundation. At Family Research Council, we have that firm foundation and you can find us standing. We stand for the value of all human life. We stand for the right of families to flourish. And every day we stand for your freedom to believe and to live out those beliefs, both at home and abroad. We work with government officials, educating them on the issues from a biblical worldview, and when necessary, we hold them accountable. We equip Christians across America to be informed and to take action in their communities. With our daily radio program, television appearances, and vast online presence, we reach people where they are. We envision an America where all human life is valued, families flourish, and religious liberty thrives. And that won’t be realized if we’re not standing. Stand for faith. Stand for family. Stand for freedom. Stand with us at FRC.
SPEAKER 09 :
Did you know there are many faithful Christians on Capitol Hill fighting alongside Family Research Council for Faith and Family and Freedom? Download the StandFirm app today to view the latest video series from FRC, Defending the Faith, Profiles in Leadership. The series features exclusive sit-down interviews with our nation’s leaders that go beyond the policies and politics to the events that brought them to Washington, D.C. Download the StandFirm app today.
SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome back to this Tuesday edition of Washington Watch. Don’t you love the Christmas music? I do. I just love this time of year. And speaking of this time of year, today is Giving Tuesday. And Washington Watch, Family Research Council, we are here only because of you. We could not do what we do if it were not for folks like you across the country that stand with us. And today we have folks standing by to take your call. If you’d like to partner with us and make a contribution, give us a call 800-225-4008. That’s 800-225-4008. Tomorrow, our nation’s highest court will be hearing a pivotal case concerning the gender mutilation of minors. Now, this is something we’ve been working on going back to 2017 as we helped shape one of the first laws that went into effect in Arkansas. or was passed in Arkansas. It’s been challenged there as well. Now, 26 states have these laws protecting minors. One of the states, Tennessee, Senate Bill 1, which prohibits these experimental and irreversible procedures on children before the age of consent, is being challenged before the court. U.S. versus Scermetti. And we want to preview what the court might hear tomorrow. What are the arguments that those that are defending these laws, what will they be making tomorrow? And what might the opponents be making? And joining us is one of the men who has been leading this effort. He is the Attorney General of the State of Missouri, Attorney General Andrew Bailey. General Bailey, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks for having me on, Tony. I appreciate you.
SPEAKER 07 :
You have been on this for quite some time. Ever since you stepped into that office as Attorney General, you know the dangers and the harms behind this. So what are some of the arguments that the proponents of these laws protecting children will be making tomorrow?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it’s really a state’s right issue. You know, I think the 10th Amendment is the overlay to all of this. And the 10th Amendment says that any authority not given to the federal government or denied to the states is enjoyed by the states and the people of the states and its plenary power. The federal government is a government of limited and enumerated authority while the states retain residual authority. The constitutional challenge to Tennessee’s bill asks the question, can states protect kids i mean that it’s most fundamental core that’s the question before the court and the plaintiffs here have raised an equal protection challenge saying that it is unequal application of the law to single out different groups of people who can be then denied access to specific medical care and our point is number one it’s not medical care at all it’s woke left-wing experimentation for which there are zero fda approvals for irreversible surgeries there are zero fda approvals for use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in the treatment of gender dysphoria. So the state absolutely has a compelling interest in protecting kids from this kind of mutilation.
SPEAKER 07 :
Where might this go if the Supreme Court were to side with the opponents of these laws protecting children? What other things might this open children up to?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I think it’s a parade of horribles. Look, if states can’t draw distinctions to limit access to certain medical procedures or certain other items that are otherwise available to adults in the marketplace based on the child’s age, then you… No way that a state can prohibit consumption of alcohol before 21. No way a state can prohibit a juvenile getting a tattoo before the age of 18. I question at that point whether or not kids can be restrained by law in safety seats. I have a two-year-old. And the state mandates that I use a certain approved safety seat for that two-year-old. Well, if the equal protection clause says you can’t make those, a state can’t make those distinctions based on age or gender, then those laws are subject to challenge as well. And so, again, it’s a very slippery slope that is completely unprincipled. And think about this. I mean, again, the question under the Equal Protection Clause analysis is whether or not the state has a compelling interest and has chosen a means narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. Those types of laws have been upheld in the past. The same reasoning and rationale should apply here. But it’s also dripping with irony. that this law protects all children from experimental mutilation. And yet the plaintiffs who are against the law say, well, no, certain individuals should be subjected to these dangerous procedures based solely on a mental health disorder. It’s absolutely hypocritical. And that’s why I think ultimately their argument fails.
SPEAKER 07 :
Attorney General Bailey in the state of Missouri was one of the states that actually passed an amendment on the ballot in November regarding abortion. But it was reproductive freedoms, which sweeps into as many read into this law and obviously it’ll be determined by the courts. The whole issue of gender mutilation, these experimental procedures, could this not also open the door to driving a further wedge between parent and child and the right that a child has versus the right of a parent to determine what the child has access to?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, Tony, it’s a great point. And let me just sharpen it and say that it’s an absolute attack on parental rights. And certainly that’s true in the case of the amendment that was forced on the people of the state of Missouri by outside interests using these broad and vague terms like reproductive health. The idea is that they get a toehold. And then again, they line up a parade of horribles. It’s an assembly line of death and destruction that follows. And certainly that’s what we’re fighting against here in Missouri. And we’re proud to have partnered with 26 other states to fight to defend Tennessee’s law in the United States Supreme Court to prevent this kind of gender ideology. It is an insidious ideology that has infected the public domain, our public institutions. And we’ve got to take a stand and fight back. I’m excited to see what the court does and confident in the ultimate success on this case.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s my final question. We’ve got 30 seconds left. Based on the court previous decision, do you think the court will rule in favor of Tennessee?
SPEAKER 05 :
I think the court will, because again, what the proponents, what the antagonists against the law, the proponents of gender ideology, what they’re saying is that there’s some kind of equal protection constitutional right to mutilate children. Certainly the drafters and ratifiers of the 14th Amendment would have found that to be abominable. And certainly that’s not in the text history or tradition of that constitutional amendment. And that points to our ultimate success in this case.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Attorney General Andrew Bailey, thanks for joining us. Always great to see you. Thank you, sir. All right, folks, stick with us. Congressman August Pfluger joins us next. Don’t go away. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, President of the 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 do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, 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 13 :
Everything we do begins as an idea. Before there can be acts of courage, there must be the belief that some things are worth sacrificing for. Before there can be marriage, there is the idea that man should not be alone. Before there was freedom, there was the idea that individuals are created equal. It’s true that all ideas have consequences, but we’re less aware that all consequences are the fruit of ideas. Before there was murder, there was hate. Before there was a Holocaust, there was the belief by some people that other people are undesirable. Our beliefs determine our behavior, and our beliefs about life’s biggest questions determine our worldview. Where did I come from? Who decides what is right and wrong? What happens when I die? Our answers to these questions explain why people see the world so differently. Debates about abortion are really disagreements about where life gets its value. Debates over sexuality and gender and marriage are really disagreements about whether the rules are made by us or for us. What we think of as political debates are often much more than that. They are disagreements about the purpose of our lives and the source of truth. As Christians, our goal must be to think biblically about everything. Our goal is to help you see beyond red and blue, left and right, to see the battle of ideas at the root of it all. Our goal is to equip Christians with a biblical worldview and help them advance and defend the faith in their families, communities, and the public square. Cultural renewal doesn’t begin with campaigns and elections. It begins with individuals turning from lies to truth. But that won’t happen if people can’t recognize a lie and don’t believe truth exists. We want to help you see the spiritual war behind the political war, the truth claims behind the press release, and the forest and the trees.
SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us on this Tuesday. The website Tony Perkins dot com. Our word for today comes from Isaiah chapter 20, where the prophet Isaiah is called to deliver a powerful message in a striking way. The Lord spoke to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saying, go and remove the sackcloth from your body and take your sandals off your feet. And he did so walking naked and barefoot. The Lord said, just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years as a sign, a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia. So the king of Assyria led away the Egyptians as prisoner and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot with their buttocks uncovered to the shame of Egypt. You know, God commanded Isaiah to dramatize his warning by walking barefoot and without clothing for three years, a shocking act symbolizing the humiliation of Egypt and Ethiopia and what they would face. This vivid illustration reflects God’s nature. His warnings are clear, not sudden, and without notice. Through Isaiah, God gave his people and the nations time to repent. So what is God saying to us today? Are we heeding his call to turn from pride and self-reliance to humility and trust in him? To find out more about our journey through the Bible, go to frc.org slash Bible. All right. A lot of the attention has been on President Trump and his selections for the various cabinet posts. But there’s a lot, lot more going on. In fact, there’s several key positions in Congress that will shape the next two years and beyond. And one of those is the incoming chairman of the Republican Study Committee. That is the largest and most influential conservative caucus in the House of Representatives. And last month, Texas Congressman August Pflueger was elected to chair the RSC for the 119th Congress. He joins us now to talk about the role that the RSC will play in carrying out President Trump’s agenda in the next Congress. Congressman Pfluger, welcome back to Washington Watch and congratulations on your election.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, thank you very much. Thanks for having me again. It’s good to see you.
SPEAKER 07 :
And, you know, you follow a line of a lot of very talented and gifted leaders. Mike Pence served as the chairman of the study committee. Mike Johnson is now speaker. Steve Scalise. So there’s a lot of men and women who have served in a key role there at the study committee.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, there certainly are. I’m humbled to be able to lead this organization. And actually, in the lead up to the election, spent a lot of time talking to the former chairman, understanding what they did, what the organization means to Congress, how it changes depending on majority or minority, White House or not. Suffice it to say that not only am I excited, but I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for the Republican Study Committee to play a very big role in our conference, in the governing of our country, and in filling the mandate that the American people gave to us on November 5th.
SPEAKER 07 :
Now, the Congress, as it appears to be shaping up, the Republicans are once again going to have a very slim margin, a historic, maybe one seat, depending on how things go as the president pulls members out to serve in his cabinet. What role do you see the Republican Study Committee playing in that scenario, in that environment with a very slim majority?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the American people spoke loud and clear, and they expect certain things to happen. And you’re right, we do have a slim majority. But I kind of look at that as an opportunity, and especially for the RSC to be the gatekeeper, to be the communicator, the educator, the meeting every week. I mean, this really is the only meeting where Republicans have a substantive policy discussion on a weekly basis. And early on in our time in January, border security, energy security, budget reconciliation, the things that the American people expect us to get done quickly, I think the RSC will play a pivotal role in not only holding meetings where we’re discussing and debating and having dialogues on that policy, but also unifying that slim majority, getting behind good conservative policy and gaining the trust of the American people. I’m excited about the opportunity. I think it’s going to play a very big role. RSC will be right at the heart of all of these discussions.
SPEAKER 07 :
Congressman, you talk about the election and the mandate that came from the American people, what they said they wanted to see. So how will that shape the priorities of the Republican Study Committee as you go into the 119th Congress? What do you see as the top three initiatives that you’ll be focused on?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I’m a military guy. I love this question because It’s based on strategy. It’s based on mission focus. I think, number one, border security is going to be the thing that we’ve got to get right. A lot of that comes from the president and us supporting him and the policies that he needs to actually enforce that we know President Biden did not enforce. Number two, energy security. I represent the Permian Basin. It’s the largest secure supply of oil and gas in the world. But when it comes to American energy dominance, President Biden has tried to kill that for the last decade. for years and has used every tool available Lastly, and RSC will play a role in regaining that dominance and regaining the ability to invest in energy because we know that’s going to increase. And lastly, think about budget reconciliation, the trillions of dollars that were spent out of the door without a discussion or debate. We’re going to claw those back. We’re going to make sure that the revenues that should rightly be going to the government are captured, that the tax rates are lowered, that we can capitalize on the gains that were made in 2017. and get the economy back in gear because we know that we have so much potential and households are hurting right now. So RSC is gonna play a role in all three of those, border security, energy security, and reconciliation to get the economy back in gear.
SPEAKER 07 :
Congressman Pfluger, military background, you and I have talked about a number of topics. And of course, the RSC covers the whole landscape of issues, not only domestic, but you speak into foreign policy issues as well. As you get settled into this position, as you contemplate what faces this nation, what do you see ahead as the greatest challenges facing our nation?
SPEAKER 04 :
I’m glad you brought that up because the three issues that I think were the chronological priorities for us underpin our national security. We live in a dangerous world. I mean, it doesn’t take long to look across the world and see turmoil, whether it’s in Europe with a hot war between Russia and Ukraine or the Middle East where the Iranians and the Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist organizations have attacked Israel, or whether it’s in the Indo-Pacific with the Chinese Communist Party threatening that region and beyond. We have to be strong. Peace through strength is a must. RSC will play a very, very strong role in helping communicate, helping educate across the board what our committees are doing, how we regain our military prowess, how we recapitalize and add lethality and readiness back into the lexicon for our military professionals, and how we deter would-be enemies and adversaries because our strength is Our survival and our way of life really depends on that fact.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, having served in the Marine Corps under Ronald Reagan, whose motto was peace through strength, and he rebuilt our nation’s military so that we could have that strength, so that we had peace. And my entire time in the Marine Corps was a time when the nation was at peace. But there’s also an understanding that we… What we face today is not just physical, but our viewers and listeners understand there’s a spiritual battle raging around the world. You cannot look at the Middle East and not see the spiritual side of things. You cannot look at some of the domestic policies that have been pushed by this outgoing administration and not see the spiritual nature of that situation. So based on that, Congressman Pfluger, how can our viewers and listeners be praying for you in this new leadership role that you are taking on come January?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you’re absolutely right. And I believe that to my core. Just on the shelf behind me, I have the Founder’s Bible, which I love reading. I love understanding how this country was formed and founded and the principles, whether it’s Isaiah or Matthew or Luke, Old Testament or New Testament. The prayers that we need right now from every American are for discernment. They’re for wisdom. They’re for cutting through the chaff and getting to the heart of the issues of that will help our country continue to be the greatest country in the world, that will help the next generation live in a debt-free world, that they don’t take on $35 trillion of debt. There are going to be a lot of things that will maybe appear to be good and appear to be worthy of our cause, but we really need to pray to make sure that we’re tackling the right issues to get to the heart of the things that are preventing our country and preventing our citizens and preventing Americans from our full potential. So that’s the prayer that I would ask for. It’s the same prayer that I pray for myself and for other leaders. And I really appreciate you asking that. That’s what makes your show so special.
SPEAKER 07 :
So praying for discernment and insight so that you’ll be able to, and I think it’s a great way to look at this because we want to cut through the symptoms and go to the source of the problem. Because my time in Washington over the last two decades, I found we spent a lot of time, our elected leaders spent a lot of time dealing with symptoms when we’ve got to go to the source of the issue. And that’s the discernment and the wisdom and the insight there. That is needed. And Congressman Pfluger, that’s exactly what we’re going to be praying for you. We’re going to encourage our listeners and viewers to do the same as we move into this 119th Congress, which has the potential to be a historic Congress as you move in with Congress. control of the Senate. Republicans have control of the Senate, control of the House, albeit small in terms of its margins, and the White House. This is a historic time.
SPEAKER 04 :
Tony, it is. And, you know, we started the conversation today by talking about that slim majority. But honestly, when you don’t have a lot of extra votes, resources, and in this case, the resource I’m talking about is Republican congressmen and women, then you really have to be surgical about your approach. You really have to be focused. You really have to understand what it is legislatively and policy-wise that’s going to get us to that mission accomplishment. And I think it is going to be historic. I think we are going to accomplish the mandate. And I do believe that we are going to look back on the 2025 to 2027 period of time as one of the greatest legislative and governing periods in the history of our country. I’m very confident in that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I would add to that list, based on what you just said, Congressman Pfluger, we need to be praying for unity. And of course, unity, we don’t pursue unity for unity itself, but we pursue it by pursuing the truth and what we can come together on in agreement. And I think that goes quite well with praying for discernment and understanding that around that discernment, around that understanding, we would build unity in the 119th Congress so that we can move the nation forward.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I love that. That’s exactly why I wanted to run for Republican Studies Committee Chairman. I believe in this country. I believe in our conference. I believe in the fact that we can be unified. And we’re going to have to in order to get the business of the American people done. We’re going to have to unify. And I believe that we are on track to do that. The next couple of weeks will set those conditions. And so appreciate you having me on to discuss it because we are ready, we’re energetic, and we’re already at work prepping and getting things in motion for successful outcomes in 2025.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, Congressman August Pfluger, I want to thank you for joining us. I went a little bit longer than I anticipated, but I wanted to give you a chance to kind of lay out the agenda and encourage people to be praying because I think we do have a unique opportunity going into January and we must seize this moment. And I’ll be praying for your success as the incoming chairman of the Republican Study Committee.
SPEAKER 04 :
Tony, thank you so much. Thanks for having me on. And we’re so excited to, uh, to see what’s in store for this country and to do the work of the American people.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, thanks so much for joining us, and we’ll be talking soon, I’m sure. Folks, I do want to encourage you to pray. In fact, right now we have Operation Prayer Shield going on, but we’re going to continue to pray. And if you’ve not joined us in this effort, you can text SHIELD, S-H-I-E-L-D, to 67742, and you can join us in this effort to pray, to pray for our nation. And as we see what’s happening internationally… You know, South Korea, looking at what’s happening, of course, ongoing in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and this doesn’t look like the ceasefire is going to hold. There’s just so much going on, and we need to be praying. And we need to be praying for our leaders when they come in. Congressman Fluker put his finger on a discernment. We need to be praying for our leaders that they would have discernment, understanding, and be able to go to the heart of the problem and have the courage, frankly, to go to the heart of the problem. That they would be willing to take on the tough issues. Many are afraid. Not all. I want to be very careful because I’ve got many friends who’ve spoken up before when we paint Congress with a broad brush. There are men and women that God has called, even in this last election, to come to D.C. to stand for biblical truth. And we need to pray for them. We need to support them. So I’m going to challenge you. Will you join me in praying for Congress? Will you join me in praying for these men and women? They’ll have discernment. They’ll have courage. And around that, we’ll build unity so that we can move this nation. As I’ve said this many times, November the 5th, we didn’t save this country, but we have the opportunity to move this nation in the right direction, do a course correction. So I want to encourage you to pray. Also, I just want to remind you, for those that are on our journey through the Bible, in January, we start our second year of the two-year journey, and we have journals available. They make great Christmas gifts as well. You can get those by texting journal to 67742. That’s journal to 67742, and get part two of our journal in our stands on the word journey through the Bible. Again, you can text journal to 67742. All right, folks, we’re about out of time for today. I want to thank you for joining us. And again, I want to thank Jody Heiss for filling in for me and Mark Alford, Congressman Mark Alford, who filled in one day last week, and Joseph Ackholm, as well, as I was out over the last week, couple of weeks, taking a little time off. Thank you for tuning in today. Thank you for supporting Washington Watch and supporting the Family Research Council. We are only here because of you. In fact, today is Giving Tuesday. And if you would like to stand with us, well, I encourage you to go to TonyPerkins.com, follow links over, or give us a call at 800-225-4008. That’s 800-225-4008 and stand with us. Until next time, I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul, found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, prepared, and taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 10 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
