Join Jody Heiss in a compelling episode as he reviews President Trump’s recent address to Congress, a speech that resonates with 76% of Americans for its patriotic and aspirational tone. We dive into discussions on policy, spirituality, and societal issues with key figures such as Congressman Mark Harris and Congressman Keith Self. Also, hear from parental rights advocate January Littlejohn and Dr. Jennifer Bowens as they provide insights into the ongoing dialogue about children’s rights in today’s political and cultural landscape.
SPEAKER 01 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, good afternoon. Welcome to Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, Senior Vice President here at the Family Research Council and President of FRC Action. An honor today to be filling in for Tony, and thank you for joining us. We begin the program with some somber news. Last night, following the joint session of Congress throughout the night, first-term Democratic Congressman Sylvester Turner passed away in the hospital. He was the former mayor of Houston, Texas, and served also in the state legislature of Texas for some 24 years. And I don’t have further details at this point, but wanted to begin the program, if you would join me in praying for his family, if you would join me for just a quick moment of silence in behalf of Representative Sylvester Turner. Thank you so much for that, and I would ask you to continue praying for the Turner family. Well, we have a special edition of Washington Watch that we’re going to be diving into today as we look into the address that President Trump delivered last night to a joint session of Congress. This, of course, was his first such session here in his second term. And indeed, it was a historic night that started off with the removal of a Democrat congressman who disrupted the president’s speech in just the first opening minutes.
SPEAKER 16 :
Mr. Green, take your seat. Take your seat, sir. Take your seat. Finding that members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber.
SPEAKER 05 :
That was Speaker Johnson directing the removal of Congressman Al Green from the joint session. And while Congressman Green was the only individual who was removed for causing a scene, others on his side of the aisle certainly made their discontent very clear by refusing to stand and applause, even when the president recognized a 13-year-old cancer survivor and later on the apprehension of a top ISIS terrorist.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is my fifth such speech to Congress. And once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded. And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won’t do it, no matter what. Five times I’ve been up here. It’s very sad, and it just shouldn’t be this way.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, so what can we draw from last night’s joint session of Congress? I’ll be discussing this in the first half of the program with Congressman Mark Harris of North Carolina and then followed by Congressman Keith Self of Texas. Also highlighted last night was a return to some common sense, including when it comes to transgendering kids.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie. And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I’ll be discussing this in the second half of the program when I’m joined by parental rights advocate January Littlejohn. She was actually there last night at the joint session. I’ll also be talking with Dr. Jennifer Bowens from the Family Research Council. So we’ve got a great, great program lined up for you today. In fact, a program that’s going to be unlike anything you’re hearing from the mainstream media as we dive into… analyzing last night’s joint session from a biblical worldview perspective. If you miss any part of it, of course, our website, TonyPerkins.com, so be sure to keep that handy. All right, let’s jump into our first segment with our first guest. Of course, last night, the president spoke to the joint session of Congress. He delivered an address that can be summed up in one of his introductory remarks, which was this, “‘America’s momentum is back.'” Wow. The speech was indeed extremely inspirational. It was touting some of his administration’s accomplishments so far in just 43 days as of last night, as well as looking forward to what comes next. So that’s a good question. What does exactly come next? And how should the church respond to this moment in our nation’s history? Well, with me to answer these questions is Congressman Mark Harris, who previously served as the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, before coming to Capitol Hill. He also was part of the FRC team. He now represents North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District. Congressman Harris, welcome back to Washington Watch, my friend. Great to see you.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, Jody, it’s great to see you and honored to be with you this evening.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wow. Well, last night was your first joint sessions. What were the highlights of the speech from your perspective?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I got to tell you, just the energy in the room was electric. I mean, that’s the only way I know to describe it. You could you could sense the anticipation awaiting the president’s arrival. He got there and then, I mean, he did just what he said he’s going to do. I mean, that’s what this president is going to be known for, I think, generations from now. We talk about that theme, promises made, promises kept, but he really is going to be known for that. And I think that he’s also known for the fact as somebody that’s going to just tell it like it is. I’d heard him say that prior to coming into the chamber that he was going to deliver a message and just tell it like it is. And he did that. And as you mentioned earlier, It was a tremendously well-planned speech that kind of talked about the things that we’re celebrating that have been accomplished, talked about the things that Congress needs to do to help deliver so that he can take care of some of these economic issues that he’s working on, which last week was monumental when we passed that budget resolution. And then he talked about, you know, the border, making sure we get them what they need. to finish what he is doing at the border, which is at record low, folks trying to cross the border right now. So all of those things. And then really just the fact that you almost saw the diplomat in chief talk about peace and peace in the world. And of course, he certainly has been a leader that’s demonstrated peace through strength and stood behind that. But I think that he had a message that just resonated with the American people. In fact, I started early this morning doing an interview on another station. And one of the lead stories was a CBS News poll. that I think it was 73% of the people had a favorable view of the president’s speech last night at the joint session of Congress. So I thought it was phenomenal. And I think it was very visionary. It was very aspirational. And I think that he’s also just reporting on what he’s getting done.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it really was one of the most powerful speeches, if not the most powerful joint session speech that I’ve ever heard. And by the way, you had a good seat. You made it on the television multiple times last night, and every time made me smile. It was great to see you. But one of the big… objections came early on in the speech last night when Texas Congressman Al Green was expelled from the floor. Tell me your thoughts on that. That raises a lot of tension when that kind of thing is taking place.
SPEAKER 13 :
It does raise a lot of tension. In fact, I was asked going into the session in an interview, they said, Mark, if you had something to share with your colleagues on the other side, what would it be? I said, because there’d been a whole lot of chatter about maybe disruptions or noisemakers or just various protests. And so nobody knew what to expect. And my word was just, you know, I just hoped and prayed that there would be decorum that would be maintained. I hoped and prayed that we would show respect. This is the president of the United States. This is an address of a joint session of Congress. It’s a big deal. And my hope was that the US House of Representatives would maintain that decorum. And of course, as you know, I mean, it was early in the speech when my colleague on the other side, Al Green, stood up and took the action that he took. And I do think that the speaker handled it very, very well. In fact, I told him that a few minutes ago. He gave him every opportunity to simply take his seat. And then when it was obvious he was not gonna take his seat, asked, the sergeant at arms and the appropriate folks to remove him, which they did. I guess almost late breaking news that just came off the floor before I stepped into this interview. And there was a motion made actually on the floor for a censure. of uh of representative green and um the democrats made a motion to table that and um it overcame that hurdle and uh we voted no uh in terms of tabling it so i think i understand that uh that vote is likely to come up tomorrow as an official censure uh for the actions of congressman green
SPEAKER 05 :
Totally appropriate for that to take place. Congressman Harris, I know we’ve got just a couple of minutes left, but I’m thrilled to have you on Washington Watch at any time, but particularly after last night, not only from a political perspective, but a spiritual perspective as well. As a former pastor, like myself, and now in Congress, how did you view this speech as a pastor, as a believer of Christ? And the hardening of the Democrats and their reactions there. Just some quick spiritual thoughts that you had.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, I could say that there were so many points in the speech last night that were just, I mean, they would have been things that I would have preached in a message to my people when he talked about that, you know, there are only two genders. That was pretty straightforward, telling it like it is. Then when he reached out and made the point that we’ve got to protect children from this kind of thing that’s going on with the transgender surgeries and all this kind of thing, protecting children. And what I really stood out was when he looked. into the television cameras and reminded every child that you are beautiful just as God created you. This is a lie that you’re in the wrong body. I mean, again, you could hear that and should be hearing that from every pulpit in America. So I thought, again, the president was hitting all the tones right and hitting the points just dead on. And then, of course, when he told the personal stories of individuals, how moving that was. And there, I think the whole nation and the world were touched by DJ, the little 13-year-old young man. They only wanted to be a policeman. And then when they brought his Secret Service director out and he pinned him and gave him an ID card that he was now part of the Secret Service. I don’t know that there was a dry eye in the room. But to your point, I was concerned that. Over on the other side, many, well, none that I saw would stand. Very few, if any, applauded. And when you can’t celebrate the best of America, as he had courageous people standing up, telling their stories. And even in our moment of divide in this country, it seemed that we could all come together in celebrating the victories and the victorious stories and testimonies of people. And for whatever reason. Absolutely. Folks on the left just wouldn’t even do it last night.
SPEAKER 05 :
They couldn’t go there. Congressman Mark Harris of North Carolina, thank you so much for your input, both as a member of Congress and a pastor. God bless you, my friend. All right, coming up next, we’re going to cover more of Trump’s speech with our next guest, Congressman Keith Self of Texas. Stay tuned.
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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 was a year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, DC. Last 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 the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God’s intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel’s peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government. Available now on the Stand Firm app, 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 in standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you so much for joining us this evening on Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss. An honor to be filling in for Tony, who, by the way, should be back tomorrow. All right. We are continuing now this special edition of Washington Watch where we are recapping and breaking down some of President Trump’s historic address before the joint session of Congress last night. And here now with his thoughts is Congressman Keith Self. He’s a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, as well as the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. He represents the third congressional district of the great state of Texas. Congressman Self, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you. Thank you, Jody. Good to see you. Good to be here. All right. Well, let’s break this down. Your thoughts on the president’s address last night.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I’ve been telling everybody that was just a lot of fun. In fact, I ran into the president in the hallway just after the speech, and I told him the same thing. I said, Mr. President, that was just a lot of fun. And you know what? He said, as soon as I got started, I knew it was going to be good, and I had fun. So the first comment I would make is we had a lot of fun listening to that. That was a great speech. He was very clear, very direct. And I got to tell you, just a lot of fun.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, one of the big moments of that came from this line. Since you’re talking about fun, let me just go ahead and play this clip three, please. President Trump on immigration made this comment.
SPEAKER 03 :
The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation. We must have legislation to secure the border. But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president.
SPEAKER 05 :
Talk about fun. Your thoughts on that comment?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, that was a zinger. That was a wonderful line because he’s exactly right. I mean, he is exactly right. He’s done more in 40 plus days than Joe Biden did in four years. I mean, he’s right. All you have to do is have the political will to make it happen. The laws are there. Just have the political will to make it happen.
SPEAKER 05 :
It was amazing. The president also, and you’re an expert on the foreign affairs and foreign policy, and I wanted your take on the letter that he received from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. I thought that was a powerful moment as well. How do you grade the president’s handling of the war so far?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, first of all, after the disastrous Friday interview in our press conference in the Oval Office, you remember Zelensky ran off to Europe to try to replace the United States. And frankly, he got stonewalled. So, I mean, he’s coming back. He’s agreed now to the rare earths agreement that had been in the works. So I think he realizes now that… He needs the United States, and he’s willing to sign the agreement. But yes, President Trump is doing exactly as he told the American people he would do. He’s committed to peace. He’s committed to peace between Russia and Ukraine, and he will not be deterred. From one interview in the Oval Office to a few days, he’s not going to be deterred from his primary goal of bringing peace to Russia and Ukraine.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s incredible. And you’ve mentioned it a couple of times. Remarkable that we’re just today 44 days into this administration. It just continues to run at breakneck speed with accomplishment after accomplishment. Turning back to the speech, there were so many emotional stories and guests who were there. Which story did President Trump share last night that resonated the most with you?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I will tell you the line that I like the most. I will just tell you. It was wonderful. And I’m going to read you the exact line. Our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you. That’s a tremendous line from a U.S. president on the global stage. Tremendous line, standing for life, standing for God’s sovereignty in our lives. Tony, I’m sorry, Jody. Jody, that was a wonderful line that was the highlight of the evening for me.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I agree. I almost broke in tears when he said that. That was so powerful. And so it was just truth. It’s just undeniable truth what he said there. On the flip side of the emotions that you and I had and so many others on comments like that and stories he made, we had Democrats’ behavior last night that I found – Absolutely appalling. What was it like on the floor not seeing them even stand up for a 13-year-old survivor of brain cancer? What was your take on that?
SPEAKER 04 :
It was it was disgusting. I mean, here we have the president of the United States and listen to what they they didn’t obviously didn’t clap for a child survivor, as you say, of cancer, planting a U.S. flag on Mars, fighting crime, helping working families, catching terrorists and destroying the cartels. Why in the world are you not for US? I mean, we are all Americans, whether we’re on the left side of the aisle or the right side of the aisle. And it was dumbfounding. Jody, just to see them sit there and do nothing. And any of these emotional, these very patriotic ideas that President Trump was putting out. And listen, if you want to hear the essence of his speech, go to the last two or three minutes. He gave a wonderful vision for the future of America. And nothing, nothing from the Democrats. So you have to ask, are they really for America? And I will tell you, all across America, they saw the same thing that you and I saw. Americans saw it. And frankly, that’s why 76% of the American people liked the speech. They applauded the speech, 76%. That’s hard to get to, Jody. That’s hard to get to. It sure is.
SPEAKER 05 :
It sure is. The cameras didn’t show much of it, so I’m asking this in all sincerity. Was there any point where the Democrats did clap for any portion of the speech from your view?
SPEAKER 04 :
No, there was one gentle lady who stood up for one issue, and I believe it was the child survivor. But as far as I know, and I didn’t have a very good seat, as far as I know, that was the only time I saw them react. So, no, it was very flat over there. In fact, President Trump handled it very well because when they tried to speak over him, he simply got a little bit louder and simply rode over them. So he handled it very well. Now, obviously, one representative was ejected from the floor, and that was well done by the speaker because it needed to be done. Yes. That was just absolutely abhorrent behavior.
SPEAKER 05 :
Uncalled for. Congressman Keith Self of Texas, always great to have you on Washington Watch. So glad you were part of the speech last night, and thank you for coming on Washington Watch this evening. Friends, don’t go anywhere. Next, we’ve got Florida mom, January Littlejohn, and her story highlighting what the president said about her and her daughter. Stay tuned.
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At the 2025 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, hundreds gathered with Christian and government leaders at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. to pray for the nation and ask God to forgive us of our sins.
SPEAKER 17 :
We gather here not to appeal to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are appealing to heaven. Today we make our appeal not in the authority of a political party or in the name of a denomination. We come in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ. who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and we have been commissioned to operate in that authority.
SPEAKER 15 :
Father, we pray in Jesus’ name for our complacency, our greed, our pride, our gluttony, our sloth, and tolerance of sin.
SPEAKER 02 :
Lord, your word is the food that can make America healthy again. May your word be exalted and believed in our nation again.
SPEAKER 09 :
Lord, we ask that you allow us to become that shining city on the hill once more for your love, your grace, and your mercy.
SPEAKER 16 :
thank you for your love and your grace and your mercy for the opportunity that you have provided us to heal our land we ask you to do it lord we ask you for the wisdom discernment and stamina to do the thing that you have called each one of us all of us here to do may we be found faithful we trust it pray it believe it all in jesus name amen
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your host for today, Jody Heiss, FRC Senior Vice President and FRC Actions President. Last night was the first address before joint session of Congress for this second term of President Trump, and we are here having a special edition focusing on that. One of the major stories, it was… A phenomenal moment, perhaps one of the most heartbreaking but also most encouraging stories was of a Florida mom, January Littlejohn, who confronted her child’s school officials for actively concealing information regarding her child’s gender identity and social transition. Well, she took on the schools and she won. And I’ll say she won with I’ll add with the help of some sane state legislators, as well as Governor Ron DeSantis, who pushed through the Parental Rights in Education Act. And by the way, all of you parents out there in the audience, you, too, can have the same impact. It’s what we call pray, vote, stand. But now with us, joining us here to share more about her story is that mother turned parental activist, January Littlejohn. January, welcome to Washington Watch. It’s a great honor to have you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you so much for having me, Jody.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, listen, for those in our audience who maybe didn’t catch or see the address last night before Congress, let’s start with you telling us what brought you to the Capitol last night.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I was invited by First Lady Melania Trump to be a special guest for the joint session of Congress. And it was an incredible honor. And I was humbled to be there along so many Americans with really diverse stories, some of them very tragic. So there were times where, you know, we would be interacting with one another and it could be heavy at times. We each have our own cross to bear. But I feel that in all of our stories, God found purpose in our pain and is using each of us to help others go through similar circumstances.
SPEAKER 05 :
What was the experience like for you? I’ve been to many of these over the years, but never in the position that you were in last night being highlighted and talked about by the president. What was that like for you?
SPEAKER 11 :
Honestly, it was surreal. I’ve never even been to the White House before. You know, I’ve been to D.C. several times. on road trips and things of that nature or on field trips with my children. But this was a very, very different experience and I was very grateful to have it. It was so incredible meeting both the first and second lady. I was positioned right between them. They are class acts. Both of them are just gracious women and really down to earth, to be honest. They made all of us feel very comfortable and it was just an incredible night.
SPEAKER 05 :
Tell us about some of your interactions with various members of Congress last night. I’m sure you were able to meet a good number of them.
SPEAKER 11 :
We actually didn’t. We were, you know, doing some White House press. We all had dinner together. We got to meet a couple of the cabinet members. But other than, you know, Jack Brewer came in. He’s one of my heroes. He’s a hero here in Florida that really advances fatherhood initiatives. We also met Secretary McMahon very briefly. So there were a couple of people that kind of came in and out, but I think that everybody was really, really busy leading up to the going address yesterday.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I’m sure they all would have loved to have an opportunity to meet you and to say thank you for your incredible stance and the impact that that has had, not only on you and your family in the state of Florida, but across the entire nation. So let’s talk about that real quickly. In addition to your state legislators and the governor there in Florida, who else all came alongside you as you were standing up for parents’ rights?
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, my goodness. There’s too many to count. You know, I woke up to over 200 text messages this morning of support. The outpouring of support has just been incredible. And even back in 2020, Jodi, there were so many parents that wanted to speak out, felt like they couldn’t. They were scared. They were silenced. And so you have to remember how much progress we have made since 2020. It’s pretty phenomenal. And it’s from grassroots efforts. People like myself, and other moms and dads and people like the Heritage Foundation and of course your amazing organization doing the work to get the truth of this medical scandal out to the public. And the mainstream media is still not doing its job. They are still not covering this side of the issue. And the bottom line is the U.S. is now an outlier in how we are treating, especially minors. experiencing this kind of distress over their sex. And it has just been so politicized and it’s preventing proper debate and proper discussions about what’s best for these children, what is evidence-based treatment for this issue from moving forward.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, we’ve only got less than a minute left here in January. Other parents out there who might be in our audience facing similar situations to yours, what would you say to them real quickly?
SPEAKER 11 :
You’re not alone. There are a lot of parents like myself that are finding success parenting and walking their children through this confusion. It is not easy. It takes the willingness to be in conflict with your child to set healthy and appropriate boundaries and oftentimes removing your child from any affirming environment, including schools. But if you go to the Do No Harm parent web page, it’s do no harm medicine dot org. We put together a whole page of resources for parents, resources that were not available when my husband and I were experiencing this with our child. And so that’s the first step that I would encourage parents to do is just know you’re not alone and go to that resource page so you can arm yourself with accurate information about what your child is experiencing. Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
January, little John, thank you so much for sharing your family’s story. What a powerful one. You were a hero all across America. Thank you for joining us this evening on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you. God bless you. All right, friends.
SPEAKER 05 :
God bless you. Coming up next, Dr. Jennifer Bowens. We’re going to go more into this whole gender reassignment issue. Stay tuned. We’ll be back in a moment.
SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
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’re 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 sagecon 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 05 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thank you so much for joining us today. I’m your host, Jody Heiss, sitting in today for Tony. Before we get to our next guest, I want to take a brief moment just to share a little bit of my heart as it relates to last night in particular. And this comes by way of observation over years, literally 20-plus years. Last night was a powerful speech. It was inspirational. It was patriotic. It was policy-focused. It was all about America. It was in every way one of those things that when it’s over— Most of us and most of you watching and listening right now probably said that was amazing. In fact, 76% of the country, according to the polls, left that way last night. I want to wave just a little bit of a caution with all of this, again, by way of observation. Last night was a political speech. We have a powerful leader in President Donald Trump, and he laid out what he’s already accomplished, and it has been remarkable over the last 44 days. But what President Trump laid forth and policies, political policies, is not the answer to our country alone. That plays a significant role Don’t misunderstand me. We need good policy. We need strong leaders. But over and beyond all of that, we still have a spiritual problem in this country. In fact, largely that was seen by some responses on the other side of the aisle last night. But listen, it’s both sides of the aisle. We have a spiritual problem in this country that can only be addressed by spiritual solutions, not by political policies, as important as those are. Now, is the time for the body of Christ not to just go to bed, so to speak, after a speech last night and say, wow, our borders are secure. Our economy is going to get better. Our military is going to be regaining strength. All sorts of things are changing. I can just go home and do my thing. No, no, no. This is the moment where all of us need to stand up and engage because the spiritual underpinning is the most important thing. So I want to encourage you as believers not to rest solely on good policy. What we need is the good hand of God upon our country. And that only happens with spiritually focused people engaging it in every way. And so I want to encourage you to do that in one small way that you can perhaps learn more. We have a brand new resource, and I’m just kind of running into this, a brand new resource that FRC has. It’s a 13-week series. It’s called God and Government. It’s a video-driven, Bible-based training course to help people who want to make a difference, to help Christians who want to engage and make a difference. You can get it by going to our Stand Firm app. By the way, you also need to have the Stand Firm app. But you can text the word COURSE to 67742 and learn much more about how you can engage what’s happening in our country now from a spiritual, biblical perspective. Let’s not just lean on good policy. Let’s lean on God. All right, we have this special edition of Washington Watch underway right now, dealing with what took place last night. There were many, many powerful moments, but one of the issues that the president brought up was on the transgender issue. Look at this clip.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie. And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.
SPEAKER 05 :
A powerful moment. As President Trump noted, we are seeing a return to common sense. Just last month, I might add, Oxford had an academic journal of sexual medicine. They released a new study showing what we already knew, and that is Americans who struggle with gender identity are significantly at higher risk for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, substance use disorders, and on and on. And particularly if they undergo transition surgeries. So will we be seeing more reports like this now that we’re seeing more pushback against the trans ideology? Well, here to close out today’s special edition of Washington Watch is Dr. Jennifer Bowens. She’s the director of the Center for Family Studies at the Family Research Council. Dr. Bowens has worked extensively as a clinician providing trauma-focused treatment to children in foster care and pediatrics. behavioral health settings, as well as adults who have experienced interpersonal trauma, such as sexual abuse and assault. Dr. Bowens, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to see you.
SPEAKER 12 :
Good to see you too, Jody. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. First, your thoughts when you heard what the president said last night regarding so-called gender transition procedures and their consequences.
SPEAKER 12 :
So refreshing. I mean, think about it. Just a few weeks ago, we were listening to someone talk about, you know, gender affirming care as life saving care. And, you know, we have to follow the science, but they’re not following any of the science because it’s all as the president so eloquently and poignantly said, it’s all a lie. And I just, I was so enjoying that moment of hearing someone in our highest office confirm that you can’t change your biological sex. You can only appear as a different sex.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. And I mentioned coming into this, the Oxford study. I know you have been all over this. Can you unpack that a little bit more for us?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, well, just on its face, you sort of highlighted the findings already, which basically this was a study that was pretty large sample size looking at a data set of about 108,000 men and women who had a diagnosis. Some had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, some did not. But the main comparison was how did people fare after having the so-called transgender procedures versus those who didn’t have those surgical procedures? And the findings, as you mentioned, they’re not a surprise to us that the unfortunate thing is that these people fared much worse after having these surgical procedures than if they did not have them. So what that means in terms of mental health outcomes, those who had the surgical procedures had higher rates of depression, higher rates of anxiety, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse disorders. And in particular, those who were men going for feminizing surgeries Those folks actually those men actually had like really high rates of substance abuse issues, as well as higher rates of depression, so they were more at risk. So this is, you know, again, this is not a surprise to us. And it’s unfortunate that so many people are still going down this path, that we certainly have enough evidence at this point that says, you know, this is not going to be beneficial to your mental well-being.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I’m sure this is consistent with the studies and experiences you’ve had personally. Are there other studies out there to correlate with this particular Oxford study?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I mean, at this point, Jodi, we’re getting such a large body of research that’s screaming, this is not a good path to go down. We have a number of countries that have conducted their own systematic reviews, basically their version of our health and human services. They’ve conducted reviews of the literature that have indicated the evidence that supports this idea that gender affirming care And doing these invasive procedures is going to lead to good mental health outcomes. And it’s just not true. We also have more recent research that has shown that one of the arguments is that there People are having mental distress because they don’t have access to this care. Well, we have studies that are showing that actually they’re associated with increased rates of suicidal ideation, even when they have access to care. So it just… From the scientific literature standpoint, there is increased evidence that show, again, that these are not beneficial, which actually harkens back to 1979, Paul McHugh, who was the head of psychiatry. at John Hopkins Hospital, he was foreclosing the gender clinic because he basically said what this Oxford study is showing all these years later, which is the people that go through these procedures aren’t really getting any better. They’re still dealing with the same preexisting psychological issues that they had before they went through the procedures. So if only we had listened to the wisdom that came from 1979, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
SPEAKER 05 :
Great point. Well, this is an amazing study. And seeing the president take lead on the truth to this whole issue last night was a powerful and emotional and deeply welcomed experience. statement that he made as you referenced. And you may not be able to answer this, but do you think that perhaps we’re coming to the point that anyone on the left may finally come to the point of acknowledging the dangers that are involved with these procedures and what they pose to these children, vulnerable children?
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, and I do think that we are winning some hearts and minds on this issue, especially as you look at across the country and the number of liberal parents who are ideologically liberal, but on this issue, they’re seeing that this doesn’t hold up with science. It’s contrary to common sense. But even with this particular study that we’re talking about, The disappointing thing for me is that here are these researchers and they’re seeing the outcomes of these particular patients who’ve gone through these transgender procedures. And yet they still say in their discussion section of this paper, of this write-up of the research, they still say, You know, we know that this care is very important for mental health outcomes for those who’ve gone through these procedures and they cite some study. And then they proceed to talk about that we need more care, post-operative care. So When I read that, I think, what a strange interpretation. If I were writing that research article, I would have framed it a completely different way. I would have talked about all of these systematic reviews that have been done across the world. And I would have talked about the research that’s showing these negative outcomes and how this current research fits with the previous findings. That’s the normal way you would do a write-up. So I was a little disappointed to see that. And it does make me think that we have a lot more work to do, especially in the psychological profession to win hearts and minds. And that I think gets to your point at the beginning of your segment, Jodi, that this is… This is not just a legislative issue. This is a fight that we’re in for the hearts and minds of this country, and particularly for those who are supposed to be in the helping profession and helping people in their most vulnerable hour.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, as you mentioned, though, there does seem to be ground that is being gained. And President Trump last night talked about a common sense revolution, I believe was the way he described it. Does it seem to you like some degree at least of common sense is becoming common again?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and I think it is. is common amongst people who aren’t so tied up in the academic sort of the, we refer to as the elites. I think people who are just common sense people. You don’t have to have a PhD to figure this out that there’s a man and a woman. I think-
SPEAKER 05 :
It shouldn’t be this complicated, what we’re doing it. Jennifer, real quickly, we’ve only got a couple of minutes. You and your colleague, Walt Heyer, have a new book that’s coming out soon. And I know you’ve been on with Tony, and we’ve all talked about this previously. But for our viewers and listeners, tell us a little bit about the book and how you hope it’ll be a blessing to those who read it and how it fits into this discussion.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, well, it fits in really well because what we’re talking about is, you know, both being spiritually and politically active and engaged. But also that, you know, when we’re talking about a profession, a psychological profession that is clearly still needs education. um some help it’s it’s been taken over by an ideology then that means that we as the body of christ or we as the fair-minded people in this country need to be the hands and feet of jesus and ready to help those who who have gone through this transgender ideology and are affected And so we wrote this book to one, to educate people on what the trans issue is and what are the real reasons why some of these comorbidities that are found in this study. And then how do we how do we walk alongside someone? How do we walk alongside them to help them embrace who God created them to be? And that’s that was the impetus for this book. And we we how can people get it? Well, it’s on Amazon. You can also get it on embracethedesign.com. And it will be on bookstores, you know, just about every place you can find a book.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you so much, Dr. Jennifer Bowens, Director of the Center for Family Studies here at the Family Research Council. You do phenomenal work and thank you for all you do. Thanks for joining us today on Washington Watch. All right, friends, that wraps up this edition. What a great speech we had last night. Stand strong. We’ll see you tomorrow right here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
