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In this episode of Washington Watch, Tony Perkins dives deep into the conversations taking place in Washington, D.C., and beyond. We begin with an analysis of Donald Trump’s legislative agenda as discussed with the House Freedom Caucus members and explore the deep division within Congress regarding debt management and border security. Later, Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles shares insights from his meeting with President-elect Trump, shedding light on potential reconciliation strategies to rapidly address American concerns regarding crime and immigration.
SPEAKER 06 :
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 09 :
Donald Trump got a mandate on November 5th. The public expects us to deal with the excessive spending, the debt, the deficit. They’ve asked Donald Trump to seal the southern border, and they want to make sure they want peace and stability around the globe. I think that’s what Congress will be working with Donald Trump to get done.
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That was Majority Whip Tom Emmer yesterday on ABC This Week. Welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in. Well, coming up, members of the House Freedom Caucus spent the weekend at the Southern White House discussing legislative priorities and strategies with President-elect Donald Trump. We’ll get the details from Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles. Or the Los Angeles fires a warning of where the left’s delusional DEI woke policies could lead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now you’ve got it. You’ve got a situation where a catastrophe came and the billions of dollars that you and I gave was diverted to other woke, stupid Democrat projects. That’s not hyperbole. It is a fact.
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That was Pastor Jack Hibbs yesterday at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California in his Sunday message. He joins me later from Los Angeles. Also, multiple reports out of Israel indicate that a deal between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of the hostages is very close.
SPEAKER 04 :
We are very, very close. And yet being very close still means we’re far because until you actually get across the finish line, we’re not there.
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That was White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan yesterday on CNN’s State of the Union discussing the negotiations. We’ll talk with Daniel Cohen, real-life news director from Israel, with the latest. And FRC’s Brent Kylan will be here with an update on the StandFirm app and some exciting, soon-to-be-released content. All of that and more coming up on this edition of Washington Watch. Don’t go anywhere. Well, over the weekend, President-elect Donald Trump hosted several groups of Republican lawmakers at Mar-a-Lago to talk about his agenda and how they might be able to work together to accomplish their respective goals. Among the groups that were there to meet with the president was House Freedom Caucus members, which has had a significant impact in the House as a result of GOP’s razor-thin majority in the chamber. So what came of their meeting and what were the takeaways? Well, join me now to discuss this and more. Congressman Andy Ogles, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, as well as the House Financial Services Committee. He represents the 5th Congressional District of Tennessee. Congressman Ogles, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you and Happy New Year. Absolutely. And thank you for having me. Besides the sunshine, what else did you experience there at Mar-a-Lago?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, you know, we left the cold D.C. and flew down to Miami to, quite frankly, perfect and beautiful weather. But, you know, more important than the weather or the dinner was the time spent with President Donald Trump. And we talked about we talked for several hours, as a matter of fact, into late into the evening. But it was on border security. It was on crime. It’s how, quite frankly, the Biden administration has used the weapon of the pen, executive orders to attack and invade our country. and undermine every working American day in and day out.
SPEAKER 10 :
And I understand there was some discussion about reconciliation, and the president is really kind of following the House Speaker’s lead on this, on one big, beautiful bill, as the president-elect describes it, to advance the priorities of reconciliation.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, you know, I think that’s to be determined. You know, Donald Trump is strategic. I think he wants to deliver some quick wins for the American people. You know, the election was a mandate to secure the border, to, again, attack crime, to get these folks here that are illegally. We know we have murderers here. We know we have terrorists here. We need to go find them. We need to deport them. We need to get them out of our country. And so with that, I think organically there’s the opportunity or perhaps even the likelihood that this could end up being two separate bills because the larger, no matter how big and beautiful it might be, the larger it is, the more complicated it becomes and the more difficult it will be to pass and the longer it will take to pass. So even if it can pass, it’s going to take more time. So with that, if you deliver a smaller bill, then follow up with tax policy. We can get those done. We can make sure Donald Trump has a successful 100 days and delivers a secure border for the American people.
SPEAKER 10 :
So it sounds like you’re kind of, you lean toward the two-track strategy of the two bills?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, again, I would like to see us get something done in those first 100 days. And so understanding how the sausage gets made up here by putting border security with some strategic cuts together in a package, again, addressing the debt ceiling, we can move quickly, much more quickly than we can if ever. Everything is in there. And then, quite frankly, once you have one big, beautiful bill, it ends up typically getting filled up with a bunch of nonsense and pork, which obviously I currently rank as the most conservative member of Congress. So I’m very much against the pork. I think we’ve got to cut where we can cut. Look, we can’t cut our way out of this mess. We’re going to have to grow our way out of this mess. But every cut, every penny, every dollar matters.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I agree with you. I think it’s a combination. I do think we have to be more responsible in our spending, but at the same time grow. We can’t grow our way totally out of this when we’re spending more on the interest to our debt than we are national security, nor can we just cut our way out. So it’s going to take a combination. But the counter, I guess, of the two-track strategy, and it makes sense what you’ve described, but knowing how that sausage that you made reference to is made, sometimes the sweetener there, the border security and some of these things that are more politically palatable are what helps pass debt ceiling. I mean, you’re a member of the Freedom Caucus. I think you’re going to have a little bit of a challenge with some of the Freedom Caucus members with the debt ceiling raise, are you not?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, again, this gets back to understanding that we’ve got to change the way this town operates. And so part of that is nerdy procedural stuff. So one of the successes we had with this, when Mike Johnson was elected, I was one of the individuals that helped whip those final votes and get him across the finish line. is that you can’t do suspension bills the last day right before you fly out, because what ends up happening is they put some junk bill together, they sweeten it for the Democrats, and they pass it with the majority of Democrat votes. You can’t do that anymore. You can only do a suspension bill on a Monday or Tuesday. That’s one of those things, again, it’s nerdy. Most people don’t understand why that’s important, but what it does is it stops this town from running over the American people. And so day in and day out, what we’re trying to do is fix how this place operates. And one big, beautiful bill might seem great, but when you understand everything that gets thrown in there, it’s really counterintuitive to the mandate that the American people delivered to Donald Trump and to Congress to fix this country.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, it’s going to be interesting to see how this works out. But I agree with you that something needs to be done quickly and showing that Congress and this Republican majority in the House, now the Senate and the White House, is responsive to the American people. So I think you’re right in probing to find which way will move you more quickly to responding. to those mandates. I want to switch gears a little bit. I know your background is kind of on the financial services and you’re focused on those issues. But I assume that in the conversation, other issues came up, possibly what’s happening in California and where these woke DEI policies are leading us. I would think this is a wake up call for the president after he saw what happened with Secret Service, if their focus on DEI We see this once again in California, the focus in L.A., the fire department, DEI, woke policies. Isn’t it time we get back to mission focus?
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, absolutely. And it’s unfortunate. I mean, a lot of times when individuals like myself are attacking these woke policies, sometimes it may be labeled as political rhetoric, right? But which we’ve seen and what’s unfolded with the assassination attempt with Donald Trump, DEI and woke policies were to blame. When you look at the wildfires that have taken over California, billions of dollars worth of damage, you have individuals in the fire department who aren’t capable of doing the job. It’s completely DEI. You know, there’s a picture that I saw on X, whether it was real or not, I don’t know, but it’s this fire hydrant that’s very elaborately painted with rainbow colors. And in the background, this entire subdivision is burning to the ground. And that was kind of emblematic of what’s happening in California. And you have states like Tennessee, like Florida, like Texas that have become a destination for individuals like California, New York, New Jersey, et cetera, because they’re political refugees. They’re tired of the nonsense. They just want to be left alone. They want to live in God bless America. And you have certain states like California that are doing everything they can to undermine our values, and quite frankly, the family. And we’ve had enough. I think the American people have had enough. And look, I’ll be honest with you, when Donald Trump won every single swing state, that was the wake-up call. That should be the message to the Democratic Party. You’ve screwed up. You went way too far left. You better find your roots, get back to who you supposed and tell the American people that you are, because right now you’re lost in the wilderness, and the American people are going to make you pay for it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Politically, that is absolutely correct. And we’re seeing that. I think this last election was a reflection of that. But knowing that, knowing where these woke policies lead and the next catastrophe that needs to be avoided, I immediately think of what’s been happening in the last four years with our nation’s military. and the woke policies that have been pushed there. And we look at what’s happening in the Middle East. We look at what’s happening in Europe. We look at what’s happening with China. I hope that we can get a handle on the military and do a course correction before that next crisis comes.
SPEAKER 08 :
That was one of the things that we talked about at the dinner, was how DEI and the woke policies have infiltrated and infected our military and administrative state, and that one of the challenges that the president will face is rooting that out and getting back to mission focus. What’s the mission statement? How are we going to execute that? How are we going to deliver excellence for the American people, regardless of the agency or department? And as you say, we’ve lost our way. The leadership in the military has lost its way. And part of it is priorities, too. We’ve spent more money in Ukraine than we spend for the entire budget of the United States Marine Corps. And look, if I have to choose between our men and women in uniform versus any other military, I’m going to choose America first. That’s not rhetoric. I’m not trying to be harsh. But we’re overfunding Ukraine while we’re not funding our Marines. That right there is offensive. It’s criminal. We’ve got to get back to making our military the top dominant predator on any battlefield, wherever they are, whatever the landscape is. And right now, I don’t know that we have that status, but Donald Trump is going to fix it. And we will continue to be the economic top dog, the military predator. We will be the country that will lead the hemisphere. And that being said, you know, the kind of segue to Greenland, you know, why would Donald Trump talk about Greenland and maybe make Denmark upset is because you have these countries that are allowing China to have access to these precious resources. resources that really are in our backyard. And Donald Trump is putting his foot down and saying enough is enough. We’re not playing these games anymore. It’s America first. And you got to look at, you know, when America wins, the world wins. When America wins, the world is safer. And that’s what the American people and quite frankly, the rest of the world wants.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, you know, in reality, Congressman, when the world is in trouble, they call the United States. So, again, why not be preventative in trying to make sure that we can defend and be proactive in doing that? And by the way, I appreciate you mentioning the Marine Corps as a Marine veteran. for taking care of the Marine Corps. But make sure that those dollars go to strengthen the Marine Corps and make sure that DEI policy does not continue to infect one of the greatest fighting forces in the world. I appreciate you joining us today, Andy. Always great to see you. Thanks so much and look forward to talking to you real soon.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, sir. God bless.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right. I am very concerned about what’s been happening under the surface in our military. I know we talk about it, but it is in those moments of crisis that the reality comes to the forefront. And that’s what we saw with the state with the Secret Service. That’s what we saw in L.A. with the fire department. We’ve got to get ahead of it before we see it without a nation’s military. All right, we’re going to continue our conversations on the historic wildfires in Los Angeles and what’s behind it. Pastor Jack Hibbs joins me next here on Washington Watch. Don’t go away.
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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 marked 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 with a 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 02 :
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I’m Tony Perkins and this is Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in for this Monday edition. The fires in L.A. should be causing more than fire alarms to ring. This is a wake up call of where the godless policies of the left are leading this country. As I played at the top of the program yesterday, Pastor Jack Hibbs spoke. this very clearly to his church at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in his Sunday message about where these policies of the left are leading us and how they endanger us as a nation. He joins me now along with Steve Hilton with Golden Together from Los Angeles. Pastor Jack, Steve, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining me.
SPEAKER 12 :
Great to be with you. Thank you.
SPEAKER 10 :
So, Pastor Jack, yesterday you described California as a third world state due to what you see as profound failures in leadership. Talk about that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Tony, first of all, what led up to that statement was a graphic image. And the reason why that image was graphic was because of this. Nobody knew that the local reservoirs were out of water. Nobody knew that there was not a water supply to fire hydrants in this critical area. What did I see? I saw an L.A. County fireman taking a potted plant out of a pot, going over to a home that had been burned down to the ground, and as the water dripped out of its broken plumbing, he filled up a, what might be a two and a half gallon pot, ran about 50 feet away to put out a little bit of a fire so it wouldn’t spread anymore. And that’s when I made that comment. I’m suddenly in a third world country here in one of the most wealthiest places on the planet. Makes no sense.
SPEAKER 10 :
Steve, they might not know that the reservoirs are empty, but they know what pronoun to use.
SPEAKER 11 :
I mean, exactly. You just hit the nail on the head because instead of what we need and we should expect, and by the way, what we pay for with the highest taxes in America, which is competent government and common sense policies, instead of that, we’ve had the people in charge obsessed with these fringe ideological issues. and this terrible combination of ideology and incompetence. And you end up with the very basics of what we expect from government, which is safety and security and these basic services like water and power delivered in a reliable and affordable manner. None of that happens in California because they are totally obsessed with their far-left ideological schemes. That’s why what we’re doing today together is laying out not just a positive alternative vision for us here in Los Angeles in this moment of crisis right now. But as I’ve been working on at my organization, Golden Together, it’s a policy organization that for years now has been laying out an alternative, a positive vision, how we can bring this state back to what it should be, which is the best of America, not the worst.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, the silver lining to this, this tragedy shouldn’t have to go down this path, but this It shakes people out of this idea that these delusional policies of the left are harmless. The idea that your fire chief has been out promoting the fact that she started the first diversity initiative in the fire department. Well, that’s great if everything is fine. But when things start to burn, people realize that cost us dearly. So is this the opportunity for a sea change?
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, I don’t know who you’re asking, but I’ll jump in, and Steve, you can back clean up. Tony, it turns out that D-E-I is actually spelled D-I-E. That’s what’s going on. It leads to death. And the bottom line is this, that I would hope that in this interview, I would represent not only the House and the believers who vote, and we know in this last election they came out and voted, But how about if I were to represent, for example, the Californian who’s fed up with all this stuff, and they want to be safe, and they want to go shopping and be safe, and they don’t want to pay $15 for, you know, a Taco Bell visit? We can bring the votes. But no one’s been motivated to vote because we haven’t had the politicians. And so what we want is a statesman. What California needs is statesmen. And I’m hoping, I hate to put my friend on the spot, but I’m hoping Steve Hilton runs for governor. There’s a lot of great people, Tony, in this state. We’re calling them to step up. We’ll bring them the votes if they run for office.
SPEAKER 10 :
Steve, speak to that for a moment, because, you know, again, when things are going fine, people don’t care the foolish, at least some people don’t care about the foolishness that political leaders engage in. But this is where the rubber meets the road. I mean, this is people’s lives. It is their property. It’s their it’s their it’s everything they’ve worked for going up in smoke because people are playing games.
SPEAKER 11 :
Exactly. And, you know, it’s so interesting. This is the kind of thing we’ve been focusing on today. We were joined, Jack and I, here today with a retired L.A. firefighter, with a retired unit chief from CAL FIRE, the state firefighting organization. And they’re all saying the same thing. It’s not complicated. We know how to do this. We used to do this. We used to have good governance in California, competent leadership that got things done and then let people live their lives, let families build their lives, let businesses do what they want to do. That’s what California was all about. When was it like that? When Republicans were in charge. That’s the honest truth. I mean, I was speaking just today, sorry, just this weekend with Governor Wilson, Pete Wilson. And he was telling me about his attitude to the recovery from the Northridge earthquake in 1994. Totally different from what we’re seeing from the leadership, if you can call it that, in the state today. But the real point of hope for everyone is exactly as you say, this has shone a spotlight on all these failures. You’ve got these Democrat politicians now going on about red tape and bureaucracy as if they’ve just discovered it. Well, we know, and we’ve been going on about it for years. They’re making our arguments for us. They are digging their own grave. And so what’s gonna be happening in the weeks and months and years ahead as we focus on helping Los Angeles recover, we also need to focus on helping California recover and get back to what it used to be and what it can be again. But it’s only gonna happen if people change the way they vote. But I’m now very confident that that’s gonna happen.
SPEAKER 10 :
Gentlemen, I would take it one step further with the reality that we first saw this DEI and the deadly consequences with the Secret Service when President-elect Donald Trump was almost assassinated. DEI policies and wokeness had invaded the Secret Service. We see this now with the LA Fire Department as this tragedy sets upon Los Angeles. My concern is our own nation’s military that’s been saturated with this wokeness in these DEI policies that if we don’t do a course correction, our nation is in tremendous danger. So hopefully not only will California wake up to this, but maybe the rest of the nation realize that these policies, as you said, Pastor Jack, it’s not DEI, it’s D-I-E. Gentlemen, we’re out of time. I want to thank you for joining us today. Thank you for taking a stand there in California. Hopefully the rest of the nation will heed the warning as well. Great to see you guys. Great. Thank you, Tony. Good to see you. Folks, this is something to pray into. This is serious business as we’re seeing it has consequences. We need to pray. We need to vote and we need to stand against this nonsense. Don’t go away. We’re back after this.
SPEAKER 07 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you. I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I’ve absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 07 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord. 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. 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.
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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.
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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. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us on this Monday. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, better yet, get the StandFirm app. In fact, the reason we are moving toward the StandFirm app, because the landscape of communication has greatly changed over the last couple of decades. And there was a time when FRC staff and experts were frequent guests on CNN, MSNBC, Fox and the mainstream networks. But over time, the biblical worldview that we offered became less welcome as the LGBTQ agenda really began to dominate in newsrooms all across the landscape. And that includes some of the conservative ones like Fox. And as we saw the cancel culture, we were really at the tip of the spear. It began to impact other mediums of communication. And Family Research Council made adjustments to safeguard our messaging against those who would suppress it. That includes the launch of Washington Watch over a dozen years ago, daily program. Some of you have been listening all that time. We then, just a couple of years ago, launched the Washington Stand. And out of a desire to help ensure that our message continues to encourage and equip Christians across this country with resources that Help them stand, help you stand for biblical truth. You know, pray, vote, stand. We give you information on how to pray. And obviously when it’s election time, how to vote and how to speak to your elected officials, but also how to stand firm for biblical truth. And so out of that, we developed the Stand Firm app. which, as it is being developed, will be a council-resistant platform so that we can continue no matter what the future may look like. Join me now to talk about this, Brent Kylan. He’s the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives here at the Family Research Council and FRC Action. Brent, welcome back to the program.
SPEAKER 14 :
Thanks, Tony. Good to be with you today.
SPEAKER 10 :
So these days you can put the most ridiculous as well as helpful apps on your mobile device. What’s the difference about the Stand Firm app that makes it of value? I would say great value to Christians.
SPEAKER 14 :
Tony, the Stand for Map really is designed for SAGE cons, spiritually active, governance engaged, conservative Christians, which you’ve talked a lot about on the program. We’ve been working to reach them and equip them for quite a few years now. And there’s an estimated 20 plus million of them out there. They’re doing incredible things. They’re engaging at incredibly high levels, which is awesome. One of the things we’ve encountered, though, as we’ve worked with them is just a need for ways to connect and certain tools. And really out of those conversations and the research we did really specifically with that group to a large degree, we developed this app. And so what you’ll find on this is tools to help you. It’s going to be grounded in the words. We’ve got that stand on the word. that FRC puts out, Tony, your daily video, because, you know, with SageCons, everything they do is rooted in the word and in their faith. But then there’s also tools to engage. So there’s ways to contact government officials. There’s ways to stay up to date on what’s going on with places like, of course, Washington Watch, but also the Washington Stand and things like that. So it’s really kind of been tailor designed to help meet those needs that we’ve uncovered in a lot of the conversations that we’ve had.
SPEAKER 10 :
So the three major daily news feeds you have, you have the Stand on the Word, which is the morning devotional that many folks are involved in. That’s at the top of the feed each day. We’ve got our Washington Stand, which is FRC’s news and commentary news feed, online publication. That is constantly updated, so you’re getting new content constantly. And then, of course, the Washington Watch, which is right here, will appear on the app as well. Talk about some of the other features. I mean, this is all obviously content all coming from a biblical perspective, but when you talk about Engage, you can go straight from an issue oftentimes, if it’s an action-related item in the Washington stand, to contacting your member of Congress, all right there at one place on the app.
SPEAKER 14 :
That’s exactly right, Tony. We’ve been developing toolkits, and some of those are resources in the app that are just always going to be there. And then some of them are built around specific needs or specific issues or things that are happening on in culture. We had a voter impact toolkit. over the fall that got a lot of participation and engagement. We’ve got, just as an example for what you’re bringing up here, in about a week, we’re going to roll out the first 100 days toolkit. So this is going to equip you with ways to stay informed on what’s going on you know in these first these critical first 100 days of the new administration but then there’s going to be ways you can take action so i know with a lot of people hey if you’re like me there’s a lot of government officials to keep track of you know you’ve got federal you’ve got state you’ve got local there’s going to be a tool in that tool kit where you can look all of those up just punch in your address um i put mine in and it took me all the way down to my county commissioner and city council so it’s got a lot of really helpful info ways to contact them But it’s also going to be tracking key issues that you can get engaged with as those come up. So if there’s a key piece of legislation that we really think you as a believer need to weigh in on because it’s really going to impact you, we’re going to put that there, send you an alert, let you know about that. Or maybe it will be a petition on a really important issue or something like that. But there’s going to be a lot of those ways to equip you to also take action on the important issues. Right.
SPEAKER 10 :
And there will also be special content like coming up next week. We’ll have our inaugural praise and prayer convocation with Dr. Jim Garlow. If you can’t be in D.C., you can actually watch it on the app. And then coming up next month, we’ll be rolling out our God and Government series that will be exclusively on the app. Of course, we’ll have more about that in the days ahead. Brent Kylan, thanks so much for joining us and appreciate all the great work you do on keeping the Stand Firm app going.
SPEAKER 14 :
You’re appreciated, Tony. Thank you.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right, folks, after the break, Daniel Cohen from Real Life Network joins me from Israel to discuss the latest on the hostage negotiations. 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 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 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. but you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor, you do, but you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you are the only one. But there is good news, you are not alone, not even close. 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, go to frc.org slash sage con and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can’t do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That’s what we’re working toward every day. 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. Thanks again for joining us on this Monday. And to follow up with my conversation with Brent Kylan, if you want to get the Stand Firm app, and I highly recommend it because there’s a lot of resources there for you. You can go to the App Store and download the Stand Firm app, or you can just text the word APP to 67742. That’s APP to 67742. And I’ll send you a link and make it real easy for you. The word for today is from Isaiah 61, which proclaims, Jesus quoted this passage in Luke 4, but he stopped halfway through verse 2, emphasizing the gracious aspects of his mission at his first coming. Yet Isaiah continues foretelling a day of the Lord’s vengeance, a time when Jesus will return to right every wrong and bring justice for his people. The prophecy also promises beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise instead of heaviness. highlighting how the Lord transforms sorrow into hope. We could be certain the same spirit who anointed Jesus is with us, bringing restoration and freedom. The ultimate goal, that we may be called trees of righteousness, that he may be glorified. Even when life’s trials feel overwhelming, we can look ahead with confidence, trusting God’s perfect plan. He will, He will fulfill His word and receive all glory in the process. May we find comfort in that promise today. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Earlier today, news emerged that Israel and Hamas were given a final draft of a proposed hostage and ceasefire deal that could hopefully bring an end to the war that Hamas started with the October 7th attack on Israel. What’s in the deal? And this is not the first time Hamas and Israel have been at the threshold of a deal. But here’s something that’s different. We have an incoming Trump administration. Is that driving Hamas to agree to a deal? Joining me now from Israel to discuss the latest is Daniel Cohen, news director for Real Life Network. Daniel, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you, and thanks for staying up late to join us.
SPEAKER 12 :
Always great to be with you, Tony. We’re seven hours ahead, but it’s always, always a pleasure to be with you and your audience. Big day. Yeah, big day.
SPEAKER 10 :
It is. And you and I were talking earlier. You know, this is not the first time. I mean, we’ve we’ve been to this point before with Hamas pulling back. But there’s something different this time.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, it’s cautious optimism. And I heard you set up there, and you’re spot on. They are taking the threat of a President Trump. When he speaks, and the unpredictability, sometimes it’s good if a leader is… They knew all along what Joe Biden said, what he meant, what he didn’t mean, what Antony Blinken, when he would… you know, threaten Israel, and then Hamas would pull back from these negotiations. But they’re clearly taking President Trump’s all-hell-will-break-loose threat seriously if the hostages aren’t released by inauguration, which, by the way, is a week away. So let’s talk about what you mentioned, the significant breakthrough. They’re in Doha. It’s President Trump’s envoy. This is now President Biden’s looped in. The Biden team is there. I guess they’re sort of joining arms. But Steve Witkoff is the name of the man who’s been leading President Trump’s envoy. And because President Trump is involved and because it’s Trump’s envoy that reportedly has some kind of a draft agreement, we’re talking about what could be a 42-day ceasefire, the release of 33 to 40 hostages, which, by the way, include two Americans. They’re U.S. and Israeli, both nationals. So Hamas is reviewing the proposal. It’s… It seems to me sad, sick, wrong that we have to negotiate with terrorists. But this is the state of play. This is where we are with the Biden administration. There are Americans, and they’re negotiating with terrorists. And at this point, it sounds like Israel’s bought in, and we’re waiting to hear from Mohamed Sinwar, Yair Sinwar’s brother, about what Hamas wants to do with this, Tony.
SPEAKER 10 :
So that’s my understanding is they were going through these negotiations in Dubai that they have now taken back kind of the final proposal to their respective leaders. And really the onus is on Hamas to accept what’s there. And we could be 24 hours, 48 hours away from from a deal.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and we’re also hearing that there could be hostages being released next week. So again, cautious optimism. Everyone here in Israel, we’ve been at the one-yard line many times with the terrorists, and then Hamas will pull the carpet out, or at the one-yard line, they’ll pull the rug out. But again, President-elect Trump’s team, they are not playing games. And Steve Wetkoff, he is actually in Doha right now. So Hamas is more willing. The key sticking point, Hamas wants a permanent truce. Israel doesn’t want a permanent truce. They want a temporary pause. There are disagreements about where the IDF would withdraw to the forces from Gaza. Hamas wants to sort of reclaim northern Gaza, but it’s very important that Israel maintain. There’s a couple of strategic passes to make sure that they’re able to contain what goes on and what goes in and what comes out. They want more humanitarian aid. Israel’s fine with humanitarian aid. What they’re not fine with is a pause that allows Hamas to rearm, to, you know, they were armed to the teeth before. And remember, this is Israel. They’re not firing missiles from outside of Israel. They’re inside Israel. They have their own, you know, this was as of 2007, there was the pullout, but that’s why, this is what we have. So, The hard thing, I’ll say, Tony, lastly this and send it back to you, is what do you do if you’re Prime Minister Netanyahu? Because there’s a heavy price to pay for the hostages that they want to release. What I’m hearing, and again, it’s etched in jello, but that Israel is willing to give up 50 terrorists in exchange for one hostage and 50 women who were convicted, again, Hostages, 50 terrorists for one hostage. What do you do, right? Is the price too high? At what point does the price become too high? Everyone here in Israel is ready to really swallow hard and say, we’ll pay the price if it means we get Israelis out that have been in for 465 days today, Tony.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right, and it’s good to remind Americans back, and I remember this because I was in high school when the Americans were taken hostage by Iran and and incoming President Ronald Reagan. I didn’t have a chance to vote for him the first time, wasn’t quite 18 at the point, but very similar parallels to what we see with Donald Trump. And Ronald Reagan had studied the communists, he understood the Middle East as well, and he was an unknown. I think Donald Trump is a known because he already had one term, but when you talk about the unpredictability, Richard Nixon kind of used what the madman theory of dealing with foreign policy with Russia and even with China. So I do think there’s that element that’s there. But when you look at Israel, and you can speak to this, you touched on it, the prime minister has his own political situation to deal with, a very narrow situation. margins in the Knesset. And he has some hardliners, about 10 to 12 of those who are not wanting to give up an inch to Hamas.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah. I don’t know how you have this baby, Tony. And that’s really the only thing. I don’t know what you do here because there are on the far right who say it’s too steep a price to pay. Remember, Yahya Sinwar was in an Israeli prison. Yahya Sinwar had a brain cancer. He had some kind of a brain issue, brain tumor. Israeli doctors performed surgery. He was released from a prison, and then he went on to mastermind the October 7th terror attack. Is there another Yahya Sinwar as part of this release? But, you know, I think big picture, we have to look at it this way. The Netanyahu government and Israel’s enemies know the difference between an administration that has… President Biden as the big brother, you know, kind of standing over their shoulder, and a President Trump. There’s no fear of President Biden. I mean, Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, made a shocking admission in an interview last week saying when we would pressure Israel publicly, Hamas would back off from a hostage ceasefire deal. Exactly. I mean, they were not a friend to Israel. Terrible. I mean, terrible. So they believe President Trump means it when he says there will be all hell to pay. We’re looking at one week. The youngest hostage, by the way, Tony, is one year old. His name is Kafir Bibas. He’s been in Gaza as a hostage. He was taken on October 7th at nine months of age. He’s now been a hostage longer than he’s not been a hostage. And he turns two years old in August. Five days, five days from now. It’s sad. I don’t know why there aren’t more world leaders pressuring Hamas like they’ve been pressuring Israel to come to a deal. But that’s heartbreaking to think this one-year-old baby, who knows if he’s alive, has been a hostage longer than he’s not been.
SPEAKER 10 :
Speaking of that, in terms of the hostages alive, what information is available as to the status of many of these hostages still being held?
SPEAKER 12 :
We don’t know, but I was just seeing on Twitter before we came on here to speak with you that the Red Cross is admitting they were doing very little to even reach out. The Red Cross has been an epic failure in this. So there are 100 hostages or so. Again, it’s always an estimate because we don’t know an accurate number, but 98, 99, 100, seven Americans dead. President Biden is about to leave office, having done very little to nothing to free the Americans that have been held hostage for 465 days. The hostage families here in Israel are all very cautiously optimistic because, again, of these false promises. But it comes back to strong American leadership. They know that when there’s a real leader in the White House that exudes strength, strength for the United States, strength for Israel, We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. But if there are hostages coming back next week, which happens to be when President Trump is sworn in for a second term, then we’ll know that they took the threat from President Trump seriously.
SPEAKER 10 :
Besides the swap, the release of terrorists, which in and of itself, as you pointed out, historically has not worked out well, what are some of the other terms of the ceasefire deal that we’re aware of?
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. We’re talking about women. We’re talking about seniors. We’re not talking about the release of men. And again, Hamas has refused to provide not only proof of life, but proof of names. Israel has asked over and over again repeatedly for a list of names of the hostages that Hamas could never seem to provide. And that led Israelis to believe it’s maybe because they’re dead. You know, and President Biden has been coddling the terrorists since October 7th and has been riding the fence and splitting the fence. And I support Israel. I don’t support Israel. You know, pressuring Netanyahu, trying to overthrow the Netanyahu government. So I could tell you, you know, in terms of the terms themselves, Tony, are just… for lack of a better term, squishy. You know, one report in the Times of Israel says this, the Jerusalem Post says that. I think what we all agree and what they all agree on is that it’s not men, it’s not fighting age, it’s women, it’s seniors. Goodness, if they would release the baby, that would be incredible. But, you know, Tony, one other thing, there’s been a lot of hostility and fighting here. While everyone there is talking about California and the epic failure of Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass and the wildfires, There were five IDF soldiers killed in Gaza today. The oldest was 23 years old. One was a Jewish believer in Jesus, which is pretty rare. I’m a Jewish believer in Yeshua. And again, 18, 19, 20, 23 years old. These are young men. And so the death toll for the IDF and for Israeli forces is 804. But I think everyone here, Tony, is optimistic that it seems like as of next week, there will be no more coddling of Hamas. the Houthis, Hezbollah, no more coddling of terrorists who mean Israel’s harm.
SPEAKER 10 :
Daniel, I was going to ask you about that, because my sense, you know, when I was over there just a few weeks ago and was with you and then in my conversations, there was that sense of optimism. Even then, there was discussions of a of a ceasefire deal. But the bigger issue is Israel’s long term security. And that’s much bigger than just Gaza. As you mentioned, it’s the Houthis, it’s Hezbollah, but it’s also Iran. There’s a sense that America is not going to get in their way now with Donald Trump in the White House.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. Yeah. You know, and by the way, Prime Minister Netanyahu has never said, send us your soldiers. He just said, just give us, excuse me, just give us the ability to defend ourselves. We’ll spill our own blood. And they have done that. Israel, I say we, I’m Israeli and I’m American both. So when I say we, that’s what I mean by that. But President Trump has only said, get it over with, Prime Minister Netanyahu. We support you, get it done, and get it done quickly. Again, it’s been 465 days, way too long. And I’ve said this with you before, Tony, but I’ll say it again. This all could have been over months ago. Hamas, if they would just do two things, lay down their weapons and release the hostages. Israel has no interest in dead babies, dead women, dead civilians in Gaza. We have cowards. The terrorists are cowards who are hiding weapons in mosques and children’s bedrooms, in UNRWA facilities and hospitals. And Israel can never allow October 7th to happen again. We know they’re planning. We know they’re planning to carry out or try to carry out another October 7th. And Israel says, just give us the ability to defend ourselves so these people can never pull off this atrocity and this evil against babies, Holocaust survivors, seniors, women, men, ever again.
SPEAKER 10 :
Daniel Cohen, we’re just about out of time here, just a couple minutes left. Donald Trump, to quote him, has said, if these hostages are not released when I take office, there will be hell to pay. And as you pointed out, Israel’s not asked for U.S. troops, and we’re not going to send U.S. troops. We may have some support on the outside. What does that look like, that threat from Donald Trump? What would that look like to ensure that Hamas pays a price?
SPEAKER 12 :
You’re a great journalist, Tony. You get it because you’re asking all the right questions. That is the question. I heard a reporter trying to pin President Trump down on this very thing. Well, what does that mean? And guess what? Sometimes not revealing your cards is the best play. I don’t know. That’s the answer. We don’t know. What could President Trump do? As long as it’s supporting Israel, and not pulling back on weaponry, not pulling back on congressionally approved weapons like the Biden administration did after Congress approved a weapons package to Israel. They were slow walking. Even if it’s just as simple as that, Israel knowing. There was a rocket fired, a ballistic missile fired from the Houthis in Yemen literally two hours ago. toward Jerusalem and people in the north. There are still sirens that are going off here in Israel daily, although you’re probably not talking about them on the news so much anymore. The Iron Dome is very strong. And so if it’s technology, if it’s weaponry, if it’s personnel, but sometimes it’s just no one. Big Brother is standing over your shoulder watching over you, Tony, and that speaks volumes in the Middle East where the only language they speak is power. That is the language. Who’s stronger, you or me? Who’s more powerful?
SPEAKER 10 :
And Daniel, one thing that we can be doing is praying. All of our viewers and listeners, I encourage them to do that. Daniel, out of time. Always great to see you, my friend. Thanks for joining. Great to see you, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
God bless you. Good luck next week with your inaugural coverage as well, Tony.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right. Thanks, Daniel. And folks, I do want to encourage you to pray. Join Operation Prayer Shield. Text SHIELD to 67742. All right. Out of time for today. But when you prayed, you’re taking your stand. Know what? Keep standing.
SPEAKER 06 :
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.
