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On today’s program: Suzanne Bowdey, Editorial Director and Senior Writer at The Washington Stand, provides an update on the Continuing Resolution. Chris Smith, U.S. Representative for the 4th District of New Jersey, discusses the slaughter of
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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.
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Now that the government funding bill has been passed out of the House, we send it to the Senate, and it falls on the desk of Chuck Schumer. He is the leader of the Democrats on that side, and he must determine whether he wants to fund the government, do the responsible thing, or whether he wants to shut the government down.
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That was House Speaker Mike Johnson last night after the House approved a government funding measure for the remainder of the year. Welcome to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. We’re glad you’ve joined us. Well, after passing the continuing resolution by a vote of 217 to 213, the House left town after the vote and will return on March 24th. The Senate now has until midnight Friday to approve the measure to avert a government shutdown. The measure must cross the 60-vote threshold to be approved, meaning Democrats can choose to vote for the funding bill or vote to shut the government down. The question is, what will they do? Well, according to Chuck Schumer, they want to shut it down.
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Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR. Our caucus is unified on a clean April 11th CR that will keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass. We should vote on that.
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Well, I don’t think they’re completely unified. We’re going to get the latest from Washington stand senior writer Susan Bounty in just a moment. Also, I was on Capitol Hill earlier today testifying on the dangerous religious persecution in Nigeria. It is time for the United States to send an unmistakable message to draw a red line. The slaughter of Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria will not be tolerated. If Nigeria continues to allow terrorists to burn churches, execute pastors, and kidnap schoolgirls with impunity, there must be consequences.
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chairman of the house committee new jersey congressman chris smith will join me here in studio to discuss this and more on this edition of washington watch also we’ll discuss the latest on the ukraine russian war the president’s desire here is to bring about a lasting and enduring peace in ukraine he wants the shooting and the fighting to stop not just for 30 days not just for 60 days but permanently to do that both sides have to come to the table we are happy We are happy that the Ukrainians have agreed to do so. Now it is up to Russia to say yes.
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That was Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier today. Well, dismissal bells are ringing at the Department of Education.
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The president’s mandate, his directive to me, clearly is to shut down the Department of Education, which we know we’ll have to work with Congress, you know, to get that accomplished. But what we did today was to take the first step of eliminating what I think is bureaucratic bloat.
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That was Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Fox’s Ingram Angle last night. We’re going to talk with the vice chair of the House Education Committee, Utah Congressman Burgess Owens, later on this edition of Washington Watch. All right, let me remind you, the fourth episode of our God and Government series has been released this week. Question is, is America a Christian nation? What does history reveal, and how did the Bible shape the founding of our nation? Well, if you want the answers to those questions, find out by watching exclusively on the Stand Firm app. Don’t have the app? Well, text the word course to 67742, and I’ll send you a link so that you can access the God and Government course. That’s 67742, the word course. Well, as we mentioned at the top of the program yesterday, the House of Representatives passed its America First continuing resolution with just a four-vote margin. It passed largely along party lines, aside from one Republican voting no and one Democrat voting yes. The measure now moves over to the Senate, where Democrats are reportedly divided with, you heard earlier, Chuck Schumer coming out this afternoon saying that it sounds like the Democrats will not vote to approve the continuing resolution, meaning that we could have a government shutdown on Friday night. Joining me now with the latest on this, senior writer for The Washington Stan, Susan Bowdy. Susan, Suzanne. I got it. I answer to both. All right, give us the latest on what’s happening on the CR.
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Well, I think that the House thought this was a done deal after Mike Johnson managed very ably to get everyone in his party except for one person, Thomas Massey, who’s been a detractor from the beginning, onto his CR.
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Which drew the ire of President Trump, saying he’s going to target him in a primary.
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Right. I’m not sure how that’s going to work out for Thomas Massey.
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Now, it’s interesting because Thomas Massey from Kentucky and then the one lone Senate vote reportedly against the CR in the Senate is Rand Paul from Kentucky as well.
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Correct. And we also have John Fetterman, who has said he’ll come out in support of the CR, which, I mean, you just heard Chuck Schumer say that the Democrats are united. But obviously, there is some concern that maybe all the Democrats won’t hold together on this. And honestly, I’m not sure what they gain from it. This has become a game of chicken. And I don’t know what the Democrats think that they’ll be able to accomplish. The American people overwhelmingly support the efforts to trim back the government. This CR buys the time for Mike Johnson to do that with Donald Trump.
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Well, and we’ve discussed this CR, Suzanne, on the program, that it actually does cut some spending. It’s about, I think, about $7 billion in total of savings. It rearranges, gives some flexibility to move funds around. It is the most responsible funding bill that we’ve seen, which is why the House Freedom Caucus and the conservative members who some of whom have never voted for a CR voted for this one.
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Correct. You heard Greg Stubbe yesterday say, I’m no fan of CRs. I think that’s been the precursor to everyone who’s voted on this. But they say, I did vote for this. Greg Stubbe, the House Freedom Caucus. It really was an impact. Herculean task for Mike Johnson to get all these members on. And I think it was because of the quality of the CR. I mean, what you’re seeing is a CR that doesn’t just keep the status quo. It cuts about $13 billion while also spending some more in defense and for veterans health care. But this is a responsible way to go about it. It gives the Trump administration latitude to make the doge cuts permanent. So I really don’t understand the Democrats’ end play here.
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The other issue of this that worked out quite well for the Republicans, in my view, is the timing, because there is a—they’re out next week. They’re back in the district next week. So they went ahead and adjourned early or recessed early. So the Republican House—the House is not here. And the Democrats have a retreat scheduled, I think beginning tomorrow. So this this is solely in the lap of Senate Democrats.
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Correct. And I think Mike Johnson was especially savvy in boxing the Democrats in. They said, hey, look, we did our job. We got everyone on board and now we’re adjourning. This really will be the fault of Democrats. The blame will rest squarely on their shoulders.
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It’s very interesting how the tables turn, because this is where Chuck Schumer had Republicans during the Biden administration, where they would be, you know, backs against the wall. They had to take it or leave it. He’s now finding himself in the same the very same spot, except I think with less of a justification of opposing this.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right, and they say that, oh, this CR that he’s proposing, another clean CR would go through April. I’m not sure what they can accomplish from now until April. I don’t know how you explain that to your constituents. I’m very interested in what’s going on behind closed doors.
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So we’re still in this period where the appropriations bills are— You know, they went through the House, but the Senate never moved them. So there’s no way that the Senate is going to move 12 appropriations bills through the process in the next month. So that would just be yet kicking the can down the road for another month. What this does, again, why it drew, why it gains conservative support is it did trim government somewhat. But I think also there’s more to this when you get to the reconciliation. Absolutely. That there were promises made that, as you made reference to earlier, the Doge cuts are going to become permanent. And I mean, how can you not see savings in the federal government when you have, like we’re going to talk later about the Department of Education, where you’ve laid off half the workforce? I mean, you’ve got to experience savings somewhere.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. And one of the things that the CR does, and maybe this is why Democrats are opposed, is that it opens the door for Trump to actually submit more cuts to the federal government and what’s been approved through a process called rescission, which was a law that was passed way back in the 70s and very few modern presidents have used it. So he can actually claw back even more spending from this CR if he goes about this process. And maybe Democrats are saying, hey, look, this must be the tradeoff. We don’t want more cuts.
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So the rescissions, that goes back to spending that was initiated by the Biden administration that has not yet been expended.
SPEAKER 15 :
Correct. Correct. And there is a power for the president to submit line by line. Here’s a program we object. Here’s why. They send it to Congress. Congress debates it. Right now, the House has a majority. They have 45 days to consider what the president has proposed, and they can decide to cut it. It’s something that they did way back a lot in the Reagan administration. It hasn’t been done in 20 years.
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I believe that Trump attempted it.
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He did in 2018.
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But it did not work.
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Correct, because the Senate’s controlled the—or, sorry, excuse me, the Democrats controlled the Senate, so it was blocked. But now he has both chambers. There’s really no way to stop it. It only requires a simple majority.
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You know, it’s very interesting to see what’s happening here. Trump actually had produced— was Russ Vogt was a part of his administration last time, they actually produced a very conservative budget. Because I remember they basically took out certain programs. I don’t know if it was NPR or some of those liberal groups. But the Congress put them back in. in that budget, I think it was in 2018, 2019. But now we see a meeting of the minds where you have both the Congress and the White House making significant cuts.
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And frankly, I think the Democrats must be scared because if Mike Johnson can herd all the cats in his house and he can get them on board for something like this, imagine the unity that they would have behind true reform.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, Suzanne, let me take on one other topic. You also are writing on the Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal that was put forth, the United States put it forth. But is it a deal, considering the bombing that took place? So Ukraine signs off on it, sends it to Russia, and Russia sends it back with a bomb.
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Right, exactly.
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So where does that stand?
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Well, right now I think that the real question is, is this something that Russia would even agree to? And if so, how can they be trusted to keep this deal? I mean, as somebody from National Review pointed out, I believe it was Dan McLaughlin, he said a deal with Vladimir Putin is about as airtight as a deal with Hamas. And I think that’s what we’re probably looking at unless the Trump administration provides some real deterrence, which I don’t think has been laid out. Or if it’s been laid out, it’s not been made public what those deterrents are. Otherwise, what’s to prevent – Putin from coming in and saying, oh, I’ll back off during the Trump years. But they need some assurances that Vladimir Putin is not going to watch Donald Trump go away in four years and then just plan to reinvade.
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Was it the rare earth minerals deal that would bring U.S. companies into Ukraine that was to be that security that we would?
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Yeah, I believe so.
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So it’s kind of a security promise without a promise.
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Exactly.
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, that was the conversations that I’ve had with those surrounding this, that it was not a hard, fast commitment, but America would not. It’s not unlike what we’ve seen back in the early 90s, 80s with the Middle East, where we had interest in the oil fields in the Middle East, which drew America into actually that direct military action.
SPEAKER 15 :
Correct. I’m very curious to see what happens with this. I think Trump will have to get involved behind the scenes with Putin. I think that’s the latest reports have been that Russia wants to talk to Trump before they make any decisions about the 30-day ceasefire.
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Does Putin play golf?
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I don’t know.
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We know he rides horses.
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Without a shirt. Right.
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Okay.
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All right. Well, all right. Next slide. Suzanne Bowdy, thanks so much for joining us.
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Thank you, Tony.
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All right. All right. Coming up next, we’re going to be joined by New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, who chaired today’s hearing on Nigeria. We’re going to talk about Nigeria and the persecution of Christians there and how it’s time for the Trump administration to once again declare Nigeria as a country of particular concern. They did that back in 2020, only to see the Biden administration reverse that. What does it mean to identify a country as a country of particular concern? We’re going to talk about that and the tools that can be used to protect Christians next.
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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, D.C. 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.
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Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to The Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Stay connected. Stay inspired. Discover news you can trust at The Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. The website tonyperkins.com. Better yet, download the Stand Firm app. In fact, if you had the app, you could have watched today’s subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill. The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa held a hearing on the ongoing religious freedom violations in Nigeria and whether Africa’s most populous nation should be officially designated as a country of particular concern by the U.S. State Department. I joined the hearing as a witness along with three others, including a Catholic bishop from Nigeria who traveled to this country at great risk. In fact, his village was burned just a couple of days ago. Well, returning the favor, coming off the hill into the studio with me now is the chairman of the African Subcommittee, Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey. In addition to chairing that subcommittee, Congressman Smith is also a senior member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. He represents the 4th Congressional District of New Jersey. Congressman Smith, thanks for coming into the studio and joining me.
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Thank you. And your listeners should know, your viewers, that you did a superb job today as the former chairman of the International Religious Freedom Commission, which you… really did a tremendous job in that position. You just spoke truth to power today, and I want to thank you for that, about the issue itself, and that is the ongoing slaughter. It’s a genocide of sorts. It really is where they’re trying to destroy Christians, and it’s the radical Islamists that are doing it, the Fulani, the Boko Haram, and others. But I just want to thank you for being so faithful focused and so clear and I do believe that the Trump administration will hear the call to redesignate Nigeria as a country of particular concern which makes it actionable in terms of sanctions including against individuals. That’s in the law as well. But again, thank you, Tony. You were outstanding.
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Well, thank you. I appreciate that, Chris. But you have been a stalwart on human rights, religious freedom. In fact, the law that allowed for international religious freedom, you co-authored along with Frank Wolfe. You’ve led that, in fact, the latest version, you authored that, so I appreciate all that you’ve been doing. Let’s talk and just kind of unpack this. We’ve got a little bit of time. Let’s unpack it for our listeners. Country of particular concern, that’s a formal term that is reserved for those countries that either engage in or tolerate systematic, egregious abuse of its citizens when it comes to religious freedom. Nigeria is one where it’s not the state that is necessarily the actor that is perpetrating the violence, but the testimony today and what I saw on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which led us to push for that designation, is that they turn a blind eye. Totally.
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And you just gave the definition of what warrants being placed on that list, again, which can lead to very significant sanctions against that country.
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When you talk about sanctions, what does that mean?
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Well, the simplest, there’s about 18 of them. It starts with a simple demarche, but all kinds of cooperation with the country, security, aid, which really gets the mind of some people.
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So it’s like foreign aid, which we give a lot of foreign aid out.
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Not humanitarian aid. Right. You made that clear. Yeah, that’s very clear. But other kinds of aid. We provide all kinds of aid overseas. People are seeing it now with the USAID cuts, how much we do and how nefarious it often is. But it gives the ability of the president— and the Secretary of State to say, this is gone because you won’t lift a finger. And we heard today, and we’ve been hearing it for some time now, that as churches are being firebombed, as people are being killed, They call the equivalent of 911. They call the local law enforcement. They call other – they talk to the politicians and nothing happens. Not only did they not show up in any kind of timely fashion, they might show up eight hours later to do a death count or – and then there’s no investigation of any kind of quality. And then nobody’s prosecuted. And that’s one thing the bishop said today. Nobody’s been prosecuted.
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The bishop also pointed out that they had gotten word of an attack. They notified authorities two weeks in advance.
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Two weeks in advance. And they didn’t show up. Anybody listening, it’s as if you called your local law enforcement and you said this was in advance and said, my house is going to be broken into. We’re going to be beaten, maybe even killed. Please be there. And there are no shows. So that makes the Nigerian government at every level culpable for this designation. And they need to get it now.
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You and I have been around a while because I remember we had a conversation back in 2014 on this program regarding Boko Haram that had kidnapped. Schoolgirls. I think it was 102 on that particular line. The Chibok girls. And at that time, Boko Haram, the State Department, under Hillary Clinton, refused to identify them as a foreign terrorist organization.
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It was an abomination. For three years, I tried to get the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton to recognize Boko Haram, a radical Islamist organization that kills people, maims them, abducts young girls.
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In fact, there’s been 17 mass abductions of schools.
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Yes, exactly. Just in the last six years. Boys and girls, too. They go after both. And they turned them into child soldiers. They turned the women into sex slaves. They forced them to become Muslim from their Christian faith. And for three years, I had hearings on it. I asked the administration repeatedly to do it so that we could find out where the funds are coming from, where the weapons are coming from. What is this Boko Haram organization? And they adamantly refused. And the day I was marking up my bill, that would establish the day, the very day, of FTO status for Boko Haram, they did it. And that’s really after we saw a departure of Hillary. So it was really a missed opportunity for them.
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But the same thing for the whole country when it comes to the CPC. When I was on the commission, I actually adopted a girl as my prisoner of conscience, Leah Sheribu, from Nigeria, who was abducted by a Boko Haram. She’s still being held. to our knowledge, and has had two children in this forced captivity. But we saw the first Trump administration give this designation so that sanctions could be used to get the attention of the government, only to have the Biden administration the next year remove it and say that, well, this isn’t really religious-driven. This is because of scarcity of resources driven by climate change. I mean, this is the kind of stuff that we’re dealing with. Hopefully, under this administration, as you pointed out, we’ll be able to get that.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Tony, you played a major role, and the International Religious Freedom Commission played such a role. I and others were all calling for it, but we got nowhere. They did listen to you, and when they made that designation— It made a difference.
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It made a huge difference, and the Christians were buoyed by it. We’re up against a break. We’re going to come back and continue this conversation. So, folks, don’t go away. We’re going to continue looking at Nigeria with Congressman Chris Smith next.
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Oh, beautiful for spacious skies
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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.
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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.
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Father, we pray in Jesus’ name for our complacency, our greed, our pride, our gluttony, our sloth, and tolerance of sin.
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Lord, your word is the food that can make America healthy again. May your word be exalted and believed in our nation again.
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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.
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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.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us today. All right. I’m continuing my conversation with Congressman Chris Smith, who’s a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. He represents the 4th Congressional District of New Jersey. He chaired today’s hearing on Nigeria. All right, Congressman Smith, let’s continue that. But I also want to get some feedback on China, because you’ve been very involved in China for years. But let’s wrap this up on Nigeria. Nigeria, the most dangerous place in the world, in the entire world, according to Open Doors, if you’re a Christian, it’s Nigeria.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Open Doors is an amazingly credible organization. I’ve worked with Brother Andrew back in the 80s, along with Frank Wolf, you. And when they say something, they document it, and they have said, like you just suggested or said, the most dangerous place in the world for a Christian is in…
SPEAKER 05 :
Over 3,100 Christians, almost I think 3,200 killed last year.
SPEAKER 04 :
Just last year alone. Plus the abductions. They abduct people and then get huge amounts of money for that. And they rape women, which is an absolute abomination.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is the same type of Islamist M.O., that we see elsewhere. We shouldn’t be surprised. According to Iranian state news, last year, a Hamas delegation visited Nigeria in February, expanding the group’s diplomatic outreach to these friendly African countries. Hezbollah also visiting there. Iran very much involved. Not a terrorist group? Yeah, I know that’s… And so, you know, we’re wondering where they get these weapons. I don’t think we have to think too hard when you look at… And Turkey as well, its influence increasing there in Africa.
SPEAKER 04 :
Money, weapons, the… strategic ability to do things, command and control and the like. I mean they’ve become more and more sophisticated. It’s not coming from inside of Nigeria but it’s been exploited from without and they are building up a cadre of thousands of terrorist killers who increasingly are young, very aggressive and there’s no violence that they don’t use. Every violence imaginable.
SPEAKER 05 :
How can our listeners and viewers weigh in on this to be helpful?
SPEAKER 04 :
I think first and foremost, Tony, is to pray. We need to pray for the persecuted believers all over the world, including in Nigeria, to demand that our own government use every lever imaginable. And we have a lot of them. We’ve got the International Religious Freedom Act. We can sanction individuals as well as countries.
SPEAKER 05 :
Just to be clear, when we’re talking about every tool available, we’re not talking about military. We’re talking about economic, diplomatic tools that can get the attention of countries. I’ve seen it. It’s happened. And it works.
SPEAKER 04 :
It really does work, particularly with a country that is sitting on its hands, folding its arms and doing nothing to mitigate this danger to Christians and to some Muslims. When you have a pious Muslim in Nigeria, and if he says something against Boko Haram or one of these other terrorist groups, the Fulani, they’re probably killed. I mean, that’s how bad it is. Harassed at a minimum. Certainly harassed, but much more likely they’ll be killed.
SPEAKER 05 :
And that’s universal. I was just having dinner last night with a mayor of Samaria, Judean Samaria, and when he tries to work with… moderate Muslim leaders, the Palestinian Authority will arrest them.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. There’s no doubt, and this goes for decades, the PLO, the PLA, which it became, and Hamas, which took over the Gaza, they are not just a little bit, but totally committed to creating child soldiers who hate Jews, hate Christians, hate america and we now see the you know and we’ve been funding it we’ve been funding it to the hilt 20 years ago i offered an amendment to defund the un works relief agency uh passed the house failed the senate uh we finally under trump defunded them completely we paid more than half their bill uh to build up these child soldiers in this hate atmosphere um and when when Trump did that in his first term. In comes Biden. And I find this appalling. It just gives them, how much do you want? Let me write that check. Actually made back payments. Actually made rear inches or back payments. Exactly.
SPEAKER 05 :
Chris Smith, there’s about two minutes left. I want to get to China because China is a looming threat as well. Folks, I do want to encourage you to pray for this situation. These are brothers and sisters in Christ that are being persecuted. We’re seeing this in Nigeria. We’re seeing it in India. We’re seeing it in many parts of the world. But it’s acute in Nigeria. So make that a matter of prayer. Weigh in with your member of Congress as well because Congress can encourage the administration to issue this declaration as a country of particular concern. All right, you’ve got about 90 seconds left. What do we need to be watching as it pertains to China?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, Xi Jinping is a dictator with very few equals in the world. He’s committing genocide against the Muslims in Xinjiang as we talk. Still going on. Still going on. And the world has looked askance. He’s taken over Hong Kong and is persecuting believers there as well as pro-democracy activists. He does have his eyes very firmly fixed on Taiwan to bring his level of repression there. But the Christians everywhere, this synodization of Christianity and all other faiths to comport to Xi Jinping’s Marxist model is well underway, where everything comports to what he wants. Everybody reports on each other. There’s surveillance in your church if you do have a church, and often they don’t. So house church movement has been crushed. It is an all-out assault to either stamp out completely faith in God or to completely control and manipulate it. But there are great Christians pushing against that, but they’re at great risk. They go to prison, they suffer, they’re tortured, and sometimes killed.
SPEAKER 05 :
Another matter of prayer.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. China, and he wants to export that model. He genuinely is his way.
SPEAKER 05 :
He has been, and the technology to support it has been good. We tracked that when I was at the commission. Yep. Chris Smith, I, again, appreciate all that you have done, are doing to speak up for the voiceless and to defend the defenseless literally around the globe.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you, Tony. Thank you again. And again, everyone in Washington has to know it. You’ve done an amazing job, not here, not just here, but also with the commission. It’s just incredible.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, folks, stick with us. We’re back with more Washington Watch. Back to you.
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What is God’s role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful 13-part series that equips you with biblical truth to engage in today’s most pressing debates. From the Ten Commandments in Classrooms to the Immigration Crisis of America, we’ll uncover The foundations of our nation’s history and why it’s relevant for today. Defend God’s plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. New episodes available each Monday. To view the series on the Stand Firm app, text COURSE to 67742.
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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.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. All right, the fourth episode of God and Government is now available. Is America a Christian nation? What does history actually reveal? And how did the Bible shape the founding of our nation? You can find out by watching exclusively on the Stand Firm app. You don’t have the app? Well, you can get it. Go to the App Store and download the Stand Firm app or text COURSE to 67742. That’s COURSE to 67742, 67742. And I’ll send you a link to the God and Government course. Today’s Bible reading comes from Jeremiah chapter 50, and it shows God pronouncing judgment on Babylon, the very nation he once used to judge others. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning Babylon. makes clear that no one is above his standards. In verse 2, God tells Jeremiah to declare among the nations, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Murdoch is dismayed. Murdoch, also known as Mardok, was Babylon’s chief deity and claimed to be the creator of the world. Verse 3 continues, For out of the north a nation has come up against her, none shall dwell in it. So why did the Lord judge Babylon? Well, for the same reason he judged Israel, Judah, and the surrounding nations. God holds everyone to the same measure. His character does not shift with time or circumstance. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Ultimately, Babylon’s idolatry and pride led to its downfall. This account reminds us that no one is exempt from God’s righteous standard. May we heed this warning by forsaking pride and idolatry, humbling ourselves before him and his unchanging authority by experiencing his unending grace and his mercy. For more on our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742. Well, yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it was cutting its workforce by nearly 50 percent from 4,133 employees to about 2,183. Well, in an interview later in the day, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon acknowledged that the mass layoff was the first step in downsizing the department, quote, in eliminating the bureaucratic bloat. So here’s the question. Will the downsizing impact education? And if so, how? Joining me now to discuss this and more, Congressman Burgess Owens, vice chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He represents the 4th Congressional District of Utah. Congressman Owens, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you, Tony. I look forward to this conversation, my friend. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I know you’ve been on top of the education issue and been excited in anticipation of some changes at the Department of Ed. The mass layoffs that were announced, this was done with precision. It wasn’t just chopped off. What we saw here, according to the new secretary of education, is that. She wanted to make sure she kept the right people that were actually providing a valuable service, but cutting out the bureaucratic bloat. What do we know?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Tony, first of all, that’s the way the real world works. I’m so thankful to have Secretary McMahon in position. She’s a business person. She understands this process. I came out of the marketplace, the private market. Motorola was one company, Nextel. Every company I’ve worked with have gone through a process of right-sizing. It’s called reduction in forces because at the end of the day, it’s all about the product. The product has to have a good return on investment. What we’ve had with the Department of Education since 1978 is a terrible return on investment. Our kids have been dumbed down. We’ve been made to be more divisive. We don’t have the pride in our country, no connection with the fact of our founding fathers and a God who actually had his hands all over our nation. So we’re in a position right now of getting the best return on investment by getting rid of all the bloat. And I’m excited about business owners understanding the process and getting us there because this is one area that we’ve never had this kind of conversation. That is the federal government. So I’m excited about it. It’s well needed. I’ll say this for those folks who don’t really understand what this might mean. Imagine taking all the billions of dollars that’s been wasted here for adults to have a lifestyle and not really have the input they need, and that money be sending out to each of these states. The things you’re thinking about right now with your children, the options you might want to have with your child, the programs that will help your child and kids around them to really thrive, you now have the funds to do it because it’s not being wasted here in D.C. So, no, that’s the concept. We the people can do much better without funding than having it for folks here in D.C. who have a totally different agenda and different priorities than most parents have in their hometowns.
SPEAKER 05 :
Congressman Owens, I want to go back to how you started your response there, that coming out of the private sector, you are accustomed to businesses doing reorganizations, doing reduction in workforces. I mean, that’s just the nature of business. But when you look back at federal agencies, like let’s take the Department of Education, which we’re talking about going back to the 70s. That never happens to federal agencies. They just keep going layer upon layer. It’s like, you know, just one civilization built upon the other. There’s no reduction. It just keeps piling up.
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antonio that’s why we have to take a look at this time we’re living in as a true blessing uh these are remarkable times to finally say as a people because that’s what we did on november 5th we made a decision as a as a as a people what we’re expecting we want an audit from our government we want to make sure that the money is going in the places we need to happen we want a return on investment in places like education which the most important thing we can do is one of our founders says ignorant and free can never be Well, if our children are trained to be ignorant, we’re going to lose our culture. It’s just a matter of time. We have a chance to reset this for generations to come. I’m so excited about being part of it. I think all of us should at some point take a pause and recognize that we are so blessed to be alive, to have these kind of conversations, be part of the solutions, because this will be intergenerational moving forward. And again, education is everything. And I’m excited about what we’re going to be able to be able to export. out of this country to other nations because we have so many good kids with so much potential. All they need to do is have a chance to learn how to think, how to dream, how to overcome, and how to have an appreciation for what we have right now in America.
SPEAKER 05 :
So Congressman, let’s talk practical implications here. You know, we’re hearing all these press reports. This is going to affect the ability of children with disabilities. It’s going to affect student aid. I mean, just all these different things we’re hearing about. So practically speaking, what will this do? How will parents and students across the country feel the impact of this, if at all?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it’s going to be a positive because keep in mind, for the first time, we bring innovation. We’re putting a focus on what the end game is as our kids, not adults. We’re having people that understand what bloat looks like. Just as I started before, we have a certain amount of resources, and we need to prioritize the resources to make sure our kids are the smartest in the world. For the first time, We have people who say, you know, it’s not about how safe and how safe adults might feel and how a job might be an entitlement. It’s about what is the product? The end result is what is the product with our kids? We’re showing that the last 40, 50 years, our kids have been put last. And we’re showing what unions can do when they prioritize mediocrity instead of meritocracy. So those are things that we now will see. Just get ready. We’re going to find out that the Department of Education will work just fine. We’re going to start taking and block granting funds to the state. So your state will start getting income they would not have in the past. Your state, whoever’s listening to this, will have income for your child to have choices and a better environment to grow and to prosper than they ever have because it’s not being wasted here in D.C. So get excited about it. I know it’s a little bit concerning when we don’t know exactly what the next step is for many people they have no we’re not we’re not around when department education was put in place but we are in for a much better place and and i’m excited again being part of that about the process in that conversation yeah i was on my way out of school when the department of ed began operating in uh may of 1980 but not too long ago yeah not too long ago let’s talk about the superintendent of the nation’s second
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LARGEST PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT IN CALIFORNIA, SAYS THE CLOSURE OF THE DEPARTMENT WOULD BRING CATASTROPHIC HARM IF THERE’S ANY REDUCTION TO THE FEDERAL FUNDING THAT STUDENTS IN HIS DISTRICT RECEIVE. YOU TALKED ABOUT IT BEING BLOCK GRANTED, BUT LET’S ALSO TALK ABOUT THE REALITIES OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE’RE TALKING ABOUT. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTUALLY DOES NOT GIVE THAT MUCH MONEY TO EDUCATION. IT’S ABOUT 7 TO 10% DEPENDING UPON YOUR STATE. IT VARIES UPON YOUR STATE. but with that seven percent they try to tell you what to do with education and they layer red tape upon red tape which actually makes it difficult more difficult for local governments local school boards and parents to obtain good education for their children
SPEAKER 02 :
Yep. But that little bit that we get, they send a lot of rules. The reason why we have this conversation about men and girls sports and men and girls bathrooms because of the Department of Education. The focus is totally different. It’s an ideology. It’s Marxists who hate faith, family, free market education, running a bloat of an institution that has impacted every one of our states. So those who are fear-mongering, which is what happens with the left They have to teach us or help us believe that we cannot do it on our own, that we have to have them or we will not survive. I’m here to say that we, the people, are much stronger than that. We’re tenacious. We’re dreamers. We overcome and we put our focus on the right things because we can control those things like our kids. So just get ready. Again, this is a different time. I would say have faith in those who understand how to run a business first. And right now, we have a president. We have Secretary McMahon. They understand this process. They also understand the power of education. Let’s put our faith in people who want to change, disrupt the system that’s not working for us. We have 70% to 80% of our kids third and eighth grades not being able to read and write, that is failure in any sense of the word. So we’re going to change that, know it’s going to get better, and know that the block grants will come to you, those that are listening to this, and you and your states and your districts will be able to decide how to best use that for your kids’ growth. And by the way, we want to also, Tony, put together a a best of practice kind of repository so across the country parents and boys and school boards can also see what does that look like what is the best way of doing this to move ahead get the best grades to to provide a best compensation for our teachers that’s another piece right how can we make sure we bring the best people into this industry and we’ll start looking at all those innovative innovative innovative ways to bring the best minds to this industry and those who don’t want to do the job those are mediocre they’ll find something else to do
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, Congressman Owens, I want to highlight what you said. This is a moment that we have an opportunity to do something different, which I think will be better. I mean, what you just said there about the allowing the states to take the money and do what works best for them and parents who are a part of the process in educating their children. I mean, I have five children and each one of them kind of learned have learned differently. And so we my wife kind of we homeschool, we kind of crafted the learning toward them. And if that works for a family, just think what it does for a state. Instead of putting this one size fits all on all 50 states, we allow the states to do what is best in terms of advancing the educational opportunities of their children living in their states.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I think if you want to find a way to get parents engaged, they now know that they have a place. They have a seat at the table. And you’re right. I have six kids and 17 grands. And what I love about Utah is they’ve been able to craft. Each one of my kids has been able to craft a best way for their child based on their passion, based on the way they learn to figure out how to get moving forward. Imagine parents not realizing that that’s their place, that they have a seat at the table and that The love they have for their kids and the understanding of their acumen, their talents and skills, they can now bring that to the plate. And at the end of the day, as they succeed, those parents will know that they had a big part in making sure that that happened. So I’m excited about where we are, Tony. And this is something that so many Americans wish they could have been living during these days. We have a chance to really get our country back on track in so many ways. And education is the very top of the list.
SPEAKER 05 :
It certainly is. I mean, education has been what has really kind of polluted the well, so to speak. And what we’ve seen, especially in higher education on college campuses across the country, where we have seen this anti-Semitism that has spread like wildfire. I mean, that didn’t just happen. That’s how the minds of students and, quite frankly, professors and teachers have been poisoned through the education system. And I want to get your response to that. But before we leave the Department of Education, I want to quote Roxanne Garza. She was the… Chief of Staff in the Office of Post-Secondary Education under President Joe Biden. And this is what she said about the department with the cuts and describing what the Department of Education does. She said this. Much of what the department does, like investigating civil rights complaints and helping families apply for financial aid, is labor intensive. and says that how those things will not be impacted with fewer staff, I just don’t see it. Let me translate that. So the Department of Education, apparently its mission is simply to harass the states in what they’re trying to do and spend more government money so that you can spend more government money.
SPEAKER 02 :
Tony, I understand this. You’re hearing from a bureaucrat. You’re hearing from someone who’s never touched the free market, who’s never spent a night trying to figure out how to make a business run, how to make sure that the return on investment there. So that’s what we’re listening to. And that’s why we have to change this. I would say this. We’re on our way. Thank goodness for innovators. And innovators will give us opportunities here in D.C. to know how to innovate better in legislation. And we’re going to make that happen for sure.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, Congressman Owens, we just have about two minutes left. Talk about the college campuses, because you’ve been addressing that issue as well.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, what we’re seeing right now is an attack on our system for decades. We’re having young people not having an idea what our country’s about, have no pride in it. And sometimes it takes the threat of taking away funds to bring courage, because right now our college system has no courage. These, again, bureaucrats have never dealt with hard choices and standing up for principles. So sometimes it takes… pulling money back, and they realize if you don’t do it right, you run out of money at one point. That’s what the free market does all the time. We’re always reassessing, making hard choices, making very strong decisions on how we’re going to be perceived because we want to succeed. Well, in this case here, these college campuses will now have to deal with, if you don’t get it right, if you will, If you allow anti-Semitism, if you allow divisiveness in your campus, we’re not paying for it. Do it on your own dime. We want to make sure our kids are the smartest, most productive, most positive people in the entire world so we can export that to other nations and they can benefit from what our system here, our education is doing long term for sure.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, as you said, these are exciting times, times filled with potential. Does it mean there won’t be some speed bumps and a few obstacles along the way? But it is a new day in America, and I think we have to seize this moment.
SPEAKER 02 :
And, Tony, thank you for being part of it, my friend. We’re going to all be blessed if we look back and say we were there when this remarkable change in our country happened. So thank you so much. And let’s keep this thing going. We’ve got a good two to four years ahead of us. Looking forward to it, for sure.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. Congressman Burgess Owens, thanks so much for joining us. Always great to see you, my friend. Thank you, Tony. All the best. And, folks, great to have you with us today as well. More to pray about as we pray through these changes and make sure that, you know, there’s going to be some challenges along the way. But it is an opportunity. All right, we’re out of time for today, but until next time, let me leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you could do, when you’ve prayed, prepared, and taken your stand, by all means, just keep standing.
SPEAKER 11 :
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.
