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Join Jody Heiss on a deep dive into the labyrinthine politics of Capitol Hill. This week’s Washington Watch tackles a range of contentious issues, from potential money laundering activities involving ActBlue and their possible impact on prominent Democrats, to Governor Gavin Newsom’s surprising comments on fairness in sports. With insights from Congressman Mark Harris, the episode underscores the shifting political landscape and the growing fractures within the Democratic Party. As the week wraps up, enjoy a thoughtful exploration of just war theory and its enduring relevance.
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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. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
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Well, good afternoon. I hope you have had a fantastic week. Welcome to this Friday edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Jody Heiss, the Senior Vice President here at the Family Research Council and President of FRC Action. Thank you so much for joining us today. We’ve got a lot coming your way. We are now less… than seven hours away from a potential government shutdown unless the funding deadline is met. So what are the Democrats in the Senate going to be doing? Well, Minority Leader in the Senate Chuck Schumer surprised his party yesterday when he announced his decision to back the House GOP’s continuing resolution.
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I believe it is my job. to make the best choice for the country to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down.
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Surprise, surprise. That was, of course, Senator Schumer yesterday on the Senate floor. And I will be discussing the latest of all of this when I’m joined here in just a few minutes by Congressman Mark Harris of North Carolina. And he and I, by the way, will also be discussing the address that President Trump delivered just moments ago, literally, at the Department of Justice.
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Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice. But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over and they are never going to come back. They’re never coming back.
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Wow. So how significant was the president’s visit to the Department of Justice? And what were all the takeaways from his speech? We’ll be talking about that here in just a little bit. And speaking of justice, House Republicans want the Trump administration to look into the Democratic online funding platform, ActBlue. They say there’s some potential money laundering and perhaps even worse, some terror financing that’s been taking place through ActBlue. And I’ll be discussing this later in the program when I’m joined by Will Chamberlain of the Article 3 Project. And a state representative in Maine, some of you have seen this already, but she’s refusing to be silent. She’s refusing to be bullied by Democrats in her state who have literally stripped her of speaking and voting privileges. And what in the world did she do to earn that? Well, she spoke up for female athletes, athletes who lost to a young man who decided to compete against girls.
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I will not apologize for speaking the truth and the truth is there are biological males who are taking the place of biological females. I think about those two girls who should have been first place in the state championship pole vault and the disappointment that they faced when a biological male took the podium instead of them. I will not apologize for speaking up on behalf of Maine girls.
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Well, that was Maine State Representative Laurel Libby, and she was speaking to reporters, of course, this week. And she herself will be joining me today a little bit later in the program. And then to close out the show for the day and the week, we’ll be joined by David Claussen for our weekly Biblical Worldview segment. Well, we have a lot to discuss today, headlines from the news from this week, and among them, by the way, the buzz over remarks made by Democratic governor in California, Gavin Newsom, regarding the issue of biological men competing against biological women, where he acknowledged multiple times that this is an issue of fairness.
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I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. I’m not wrestling. I’m not relaxing with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you, but I revere sports. And so the issue of fairness is completely legit. Let me step back, say completely fair on the issue of fairness. I completely agree. So that’s easy to call out the unfairness of that. Amazing.
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Absolutely amazing. Talk about 180 degree turn. Wow. Well, we’ll be talking more about that as we go into the Biblical Worldview segment and more. So as always, we’ve got a lot coming your way. Our website, of course, TonyPerkins.com. You want to keep that handy. So let’s jump into our first topic for the day. Speaking before the Department of Justice literally just moments ago, President Trump set out his vision for how crime is going to be handled under his administration. And as you well know, the president has previously been at odds with the Department of Justice under the Biden administration, saying that it was weaponized against him. But with President Trump back in the office, what are his plans? What are his plans for the DOJ? Well, here to discuss this and more is Congressman Mark Harris. He’s a member of the House Judiciary Committee, as well as a couple of other committees, including the education workforce. He represents North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District. Congressman Harris, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you, my friend.
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Hey, Jody, it’s great to see you. Thank you for having me this evening.
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Always an honor. All right. Listen, we’ve got a lot to talk about in just a short period of time. President Trump has previously criticized the Department of Justice as being weaponized as a tool, a political tool against him. And Attorney General Pam Bondi has stressed the need to depoliticize the department. So how do you think President Trump is addressing this concern? What can we look for in his administration?
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Well, I think that it’s like every situation. When you’ve got a leader who is setting the tone, a leader like President Trump that’s making clear the vision that he has, and then you’ve got somebody of extreme competence like Pam Bondi who shares that vision and understands it. She’s been a part of the legal profession for many, many years as Attorney General, of course, there in Florida. And she knows what needs to be done. And I think that being able to depoliticize this, that individuals are not gonna have to worry that based on your political persuasion, whether or not you need to be constantly looking over your shoulder about charges being brought against you or criminal charges. We’ve seen this Department of Justice absolutely out of hand over the last four years. President Trump ran on this issue. He made it perfectly clear in the campaign that there had to be an end to this welfare where really you just tried to stall. You tried to keep people on the sidelines. You tried to impugn people’s reputation and their character. And he’s calling for a halt to that. And I, for one, I’m certainly glad that he’s stepping up and doing it.
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Yep, you along with millions of others. You know, I mean, our country is so founded upon, based upon the rule of law, and we have gotten so far away from that. And for this move to literally restore law and order, it ought to be something that everyone celebrates. So what do you say to those, Congressman Mark Harris, who are critical of, of Trump’s decision to purge certain members of the Department of Justice. Is he on the right track to restore or depoliticize this department?
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Sure. I think he’s on the right track. I mean, when you look at it, it’s a whole spectrum of things that Congress is even looking at doing. And we’ve had already hearings and conversations that have gone on, a markup of a bill there in the Judiciary Committee that basically is going to allow individuals that are attacked or gone after by local district attorneys or even state attorney generals and allow those cases to automatically get into the federal courts where they can get a hearing and where they eventually can work their way up perhaps even to the Supreme Court if necessary. But you see people in these local district attorney races and even state attorney general races that are running with the whole concept of what they’re going to do to a political opponent, what they’re going to do to somebody that they disagree with politically. And that’s extremely dangerous. And that’s just one example of things that we’re going to try to do to help bring down the temperature in this whole mess of where the Justice Department had gotten off track. And I think that, again, Pam Bondi, I think you can look at Kash Patel at the FBI. And the work that they’re doing is gonna be important in trying to make sure that those that are employed there understand that responsibility. The confidence that the American people have in our system of justice is foundational to the whole system that we have. And we’ve talked about that with election integrity. We talk about that with the system of justice. Every piece is so important And restoring confidence in the American people is something that President Trump, I think, has set out as a goal. I frankly think it’s something that he is able to do by winning the election the way he did this past November. He got a mandate by the voters giving us a majority in the US House, by flipping the Senate and giving us a majority there. Really and truly, I think they’re looking to President Trump with a sense of expectation, but also with a sense of confidence that we are going to restore really our system of justice to where it needs to be.
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Well, I couldn’t agree with you more. If we can, let’s turn real quickly here in the last couple of minutes that we have to the CR that’s taking place in the Senate. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’s going to support it. What do you make of that? It seems to me that there’s quite a battle taking place among the Democratic Party right now. Your thoughts?
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I think it is a battle that’s going on from within in a big way. Let me tell you something, Jody. They said it couldn’t be done. The left and their media that was in their pocket were already writing the narratives about how Republicans couldn’t govern, that we were going to implode, that we wouldn’t be able to come together. And what we’ve seen happen in the last couple of weeks with the budget resolution and then what we just saw this week on Tuesday evening with the C.R., As we saw Republicans that are standing united, we’re working with the president. I mean, that whole process, the president was heavily involved working alongside Speaker Johnson. He was very, very, I would say, very intelligently working with all the groups within the House to pull that thing together. And it was a great, great bill. You know, a lot of folks don’t like CRs. I don’t like CRs. It’s not the way to do it. But yet we were in a situation, we were facing a situation where the president needed time to continue to do what he was doing. We needed time to get our act together with a budget reconciliation. And this CR is going to give us that. And the beauty of it is as hard as it is to have to vote for a CR, This is one that actually was a net cut in spending. I think it was around $7 billion. Did away with earmarks. It certainly was not loaded up with other things. When is the last time that you saw a CR that was passed that actually cut spending? It’s amazing.
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And this is step one. We have reconciliation and so forth, a lot more spending cuts coming. Congressman Mark Harris, as we have been talking, the Senate just cleared the 60-vote majority on the – spending measures. So they will be voting before midnight and it appears if they have 60 to pass that hurdle, it appears as though the aversion of government shutdown is going to be taking place tonight. So it’s good news. Even while you and I’ve been talking, we need to get you on the program more. Good news happens when you come on here with Washington. I do know that It’s great news. Hakeem Jeffries has been trying to urge the Senate not to vote for this. Again, I think it’s just more an example of the Democrats fracturing among themselves. 30 seconds or so, your final thoughts on this.
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Yes, sir. They are leaderless right now. They don’t have a vision right now. They are in absolute chaos. They’ve kind of turned on their own. I think I heard in the last 24 hours that AOC is being encouraged to challenge Chuck Schumer for that Senate seat. I don’t know if she’s going to do that or not. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But they right now had never planned on Republicans being able to govern and hang together and work together and do what we’ve said we were going to do. President Trump has been leading the way in that. And we’re shrinking the size of government and we’re doing the things that we said we were going to do.
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It’s exciting. Congressman Mark Harris of North Carolina, always great to see you. Keep the torch ablaze. Have a great weekend, my friend.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you, Jody. God bless you, buddy.
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All right, coming up next, Will Chamberlain and the Senior Counsel for Article III Project will join me about a huge money laundering scheme. 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, 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. Discover news you can trust at The Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
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Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Happy Friday to you. I’m Jody Heiss. Glad to have you on board with us as plates of news are spinning all over the place. And one of those plates has to do with House Republicans who clearly want President Trump and his administration to dig into activities of the Democratic online funding platform known as ActBlue. For example, yesterday, Congressman Andy Biggs sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel calling on him to look into reports from banks of hundreds of suspicious transactions. The day before that, Congressman Daryl Isis sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department regarding what he referred to as credible allegations of terror financing. And then earlier this week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, along with the House Administration Committee, together they sent a letter to the Treasury Department asking for information regarding the two committees’ investigation into reports of potentially fraudulent and illicit financial activity concerning ActBlue. So what in the world is going on with ActBlue, and is this a symptom of potentially a wider problem that’s going on? Well, joining me now with his insights is Will Chamberlain. He’s the senior counsel at the Article III Project. Will, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you.
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Good to be with you, Jody.
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All right, first of all, let me just throw this out to you. Are you in any way surprised by any of these allegations against ActBlue?
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No, not at all. What ActBlue has been doing, they just didn’t have proper security on their credit cards. They weren’t requiring donors to include the three-digit CVV code that I’m sure every one of your listeners and viewers is used to putting in whenever they buy something online. That code is an anti-fraud measure, and it costs more money to be – essentially to provide charges without acquiring that code, and yet ActBlue chose to do that. And now that people are investigating it, something like seven or eight senior ActBlue officials have simply left the organization. The lawyers are leaving the organization. This is rats fleeing a sinking ship. They know that we don’t know exactly what ActBlue did that was so legally indefensible, but we can be confident that they did something legally indefensible.
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Yeah, when you start seeing, I’m glad you brought that up, because I was noticing that when you start seeing all these people fleeing from Act Blue, including the legal team, you’ve got to look at this with a great deal of suspicion. Now, let me ask you this, because I always felt this way while I was in Congress, that Act Blue was hiding something. I never knew what, but I just had that sense. So could this scandal, let me put it this way, could this potential scandal implicate a whole host of Democrats who perhaps are in office right now?
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Yeah, there’s a real good question about whether or not these people are receiving donations from who they said they were receiving them from. And that would seem to be a campaign finance violation on their parts. Maybe they could say, well, we didn’t know. We took Act Blue at its word, in which case everything would fall on Act Blue. But there’s certainly some legal exposure there for the actual sitting officeholders, especially if they had some idea of what was going on or if maybe some of them intentionally were routing donations fraudulent donations through act blue i mean you can think of a lot of ways in which act blue could be used you know if you have one donor who wants to give hard money to a campaign you know half a million in hard money well they’re not allowed to do that under our law you can only give i think something like 2600 a person ish maybe maybe slightly more Well, if you want to give half a million dollars, normally you have to give it to a PAC or something. But if you have a way to pretend that this half a million dollars was actually from 250 small donors on ActBlue, then all of a sudden, you’ve magically created a half a million in hard money. And, you know, speaking of someone, I mean, you were a representative. I’ve worked on campaigns before. Hard money is like gold. There’s just so little of it. And the scarcity of hard money is kind of what keeps campaign staff small and limits the ability of campaigns to do what they want to do. So if ActBlue has been using, you know, essentially creating straw donors, a straw donor setup, fake small donors to allow big money to come in behind their candidates, I mean, that’s a massive scandal.
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Yeah, let me just throw this out, and this is part of what I was always seemingly aware of. It seemed as though Democratic candidates never had to do anything to raise money. They just became the candidate, and it seemed as though just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars flowed into them. So just your assessment, is ActBlue— The only bad actor potentially that’s brewing in this scandal, or could it go beyond ActBlue?
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I mean, it could go beyond ActBlue. I mean, if you think about it, if they set up a platform where anybody could donate to Democratic candidates without CVV codes, without proper any fraud measures. Then not only is there some knowing fraud that they were probably involved in, but they created a platform for fraud where anybody who said to themselves, oh, well, I’ve got this big money donor that wants to come in with half a million. I will use I will create a scheme on ActBlue to have them use ActBlue route money through a bunch of smaller donors and give it to me. And maybe those people aren’t even real. Maybe they’re fake. Maybe they’re based on stolen credit cards. Who knows? I mean, because they’re not doing proper anti-fraud protection, there’s all sorts of different ways in which a bad actor could exploit the system, either by disguising the source of funds or by literally just committing credit card fraud using a credit card number that didn’t belong to them in the first instance and and defrauding somebody else to route money into a campaign i mean we heard that story there’s some story that some some little old lady i think in maryland or something you know who’s living on a you know fixed income is suddenly donating 200 grand over six months to democratic political campaigns and and she had no idea what was going on uh that raises red flags at a minimum it sure does all right less than a minute so what are the legal implications here real quickly Oh, I mean, ActBlue itself would get shut down and, you know, it could be a criminal defendant and you’d actually charge the organization criminally. The board legally exposed, all the senior officers who were knowing illegally exposed. And, you know, if the beneficiaries, like if the campaigns, if they didn’t know about it, they’re probably not criminally liable, but there’s still probably some FEC exposure, some sort of requirement that they return some of the monies. That could certainly be a thing. And if there were knowing plots to exploit the vulnerabilities I just talked about, then there’s criminal liability for the politicians and their campaigns as well.
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Wow. Will Chamberlain, Article 3 Project, thank you so much for keeping us up to speed on this developing and huge, huge story. Thank you for joining us. Hope you have a great weekend.
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Thanks for having me, Jody.
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All right, friends, don’t go anywhere. On the other side of the break, Maine representative, a state representative from Maine, Laurel Libby, returns to Washington to watch on an issue on what’s happening in her case. You don’t want to miss it. Stay tuned.
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Oh, beautiful for spacious skies.
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For amber waves of grace 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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Thank you so much for joining us. Happy Friday to you. Welcome back to this edition of Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Heiss, Senior Vice President here at FRC and President of FRC Action. All right. We have been closely tracking State Representative from Maine, Laurel Libby, and her brave, brave stand for female athletes in the face of some Democratic colleagues who refuse to acknowledge basic biology. Well, she was censured by her colleagues, I don’t know, probably two weeks or so ago, and she is fighting back. She is taking a stand. So what’s the latest on all of this? We’re here to give an update on her situation is Representative Libby. Representative Libby, welcome back to Washington Watch. It’s always great to have you.
SPEAKER 13 :
Thank you so much for having me on.
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All right, listen, let’s begin with this. Perhaps there are some who missed your story last time you were on with us. Why don’t you just kind of real quickly tell us about your stand for women and protecting women’s sports in your state legislature. What happened?
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Sure. So I’m sure that your audience remembers that President Trump issued an executive order back in the beginning of February that biological males were not to participate in girls’ sports. Of course, Maine’s stance has been that biological males can participate in girls’ sports. And in late February, a biological male won the female pole vault state championship. I posted about that with side-by-side photos of the young man participating last year and winning fifth place as a male, and this year participating in the female championship and winning the state championship. And that post was what was objectionable to my Democrat colleagues in the House who, yes, have censured me, essentially muzzling me and completely disenfranchising the 9,000 constituents that I represent in Augusta. I can no longer vote or speak on the floor.
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That’s just unbelievable to me. I mean, your constituents, as you say, they’ve been disenfranchised by all of this. They elected you to represent them, to speak in their behalf, to fight for the values that they all hold and to vote for them. And so it’s just stunning to me what your Democratic colleagues have done. Tell us about the lawsuit. What are you asking for? What’s happening with this lawsuit?
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Well, the fact is I do have those 9,000 constituents who have been disenfranchised. I’ve been silenced, muzzled by this censure. And so on Tuesday, we filed a lawsuit with federal district court contending that long and short, they can’t do that, disenfranchise my constituents this way. We’re fighting to get my voice and my vote back so that I can represent my district once more.
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And it’s not like you did some heinous crime. I mean, what you did was obvious. The picture there is stunning. For those who are listening rather than watching, I wish you could see the picture that was just posted. Here is a clearly… a young man who competed as a man last year, same man, a little longer hair, but competing against women this year. And that’s all you did, Representative Libby, and for that you have been stripped of the right to speak and vote. Is that correct?
SPEAKER 13 :
That is correct. You know, the Democrats in Maine that are in power in Augusta don’t want to have a conversation about this policy because they know that it’s wildly unpopular. We’ve seen that in the polling around the country where 80 percent of folks don’t believe that biological males should be able to participate in girls sports. And so rather than having a policy debate, they’ve simply tried to cancel me in order to shut down the conversation around girls sports and ensuring that they have a safe, fair and level playing field.
SPEAKER 04 :
So have any of your Democratic colleagues responded to your actions? Have any of them reached out to you?
SPEAKER 13 :
You know, they really operate as a block one voice. And the couple of folks that I’ve spoken to since my censure think that it’s completely warranted, which is why, one of the reasons why we’ve had to file this lawsuit. I don’t see an end to the censure coming from the Democrat majority or the Speaker of the House. So the only way that my constituents will see this resolved and see me be able to fully represent them in the State House is through action here in the courts and having our day in court and ensuring that they have a voice and vote.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, listen, that is one of the reasons that we here at FRC and Washington Watch have been keeping such a track on this. We are so grateful for your willingness to take a stand and to push back. And if I’m a betting man, you’re going to win this. So before we wrap up, what would be your advice maybe for other state legislators who may be under some pressure similar to this? Why is it important to make this stand for women and women-only spaces?
SPEAKER 13 :
We absolutely have to take a stand. You know, I’ve heard from a number of young women in our state who have been dealing with this, whether it was being injured on the field of play or having an unfair competition where they were beaten by a biological male. And they’re afraid to speak up. They’re afraid to make their voices heard. So they need to see us being the example. And I would encourage young other state legislators to do the same, make a stand for these young ladies and help ensure that in the future they have a safe, fair and level playing field.
SPEAKER 04 :
State Representative Laurel Libby from Maine, I’ve thought about many times we need to have an opportunity to recognize and award individuals who take a courageous stand. And if we had that in place, you would be receiving that right now. I want to say thank you for standing for that which is right. You’ve got millions of people across the country praying for you. and we’re grateful for you doing what you’re doing, and thank you for joining us again on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 13 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, friends, on the other side of the break, FRC’s David Claussen is going to be joining me for our weekly Biblical Worldview discussion. We’ve got a lot to talk about, a lot to talk about, so don’t go anywhere. We’ll be back in just a moment.
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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.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Glad to have you with us. Listen, as we wrap up the program and wrap up this week, there’s certainly no shortage of news to cover this week. And as always, we want to end the program and end the week by thinking about all the headlines through a biblical worldview perspective. And to do that is our very own David Claussen. Before I bring him on, though, I want to just remind you, David has a brand new book, and it’s called Life After Roe, Equipping Christians for the Fight for Life Today. Folks, this is an important, important book because this fight has not gone away. It’s bigger now than ever. Bigger now than ever. And this particular book just puts it in such a neat package, deals with this issue from a theological perspective, a biblical perspective, a historical perspective, and a political perspective. All wrapped up in one volume. And lucky for you, Washington Watch viewers and listeners can get a 40% discount with a special code. Just when you buy Life After Row, you can get it, by the way, at LifeWay.com. Go to LifeWay.com and then simply enter the promo code WashingtonWatch. How simple is that? Washington Watch. No spaces, one word, Washington Watch, and you will get a 40% discount. I hope that you’ll take advantage of this limited time opportunity. And with all that, let me now bring on the author of that book, David Claussen. He’s the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview here at the Family Research Council. David, welcome back to Washington Watch, and happy Friday to you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Happy Friday, Jody. Great to be with you again.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, we got a lot to cover. So let’s jump into this one. Russia and Ukraine has been big in the news as both sides, it appears at least, are considering a ceasefire proposal that’s, of course, been brokered by the U.S. And hopefully that will lead to talks that ultimately end the conflict. But in terms of Christians, David, I’ve heard you talk about this before. In terms of Christians… thinking about war in general. I’d like for our listeners and viewers to think about all of this from a biblical perspective, and I’m talking about war itself. And for centuries, Christians have talked about what’s known as just war theory, and I’ve heard you talk about this. So let me put this out to you. What does just war theory refer to, and how does it help believers think about war?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, Jody, I think this is the perfect time to talk about this because we know over the next couple of weeks and months, probably the headlines will be dominated by whatever results from the ceasefire talks. And again, as people of peace, Christians should hope that again, a ceasefire actually materializes and that there can be a cessation of these hostilities. And as Christians, you know, we have thought about these issues for literally centuries. Just war theory actually goes back to Augustine, who was one of the first, this is fourth century, who kind of articulated some of these principles and it’s been expanded upon since then. Let me just give you very briefly, Jody, six principles that I think the just war theory says that these things need to be in place for a nation to actually wage war. The first would just be that there needs to be a just cause. You can’t just go to war for any reason. You go maybe to war because of issues of self-defense or there’s a serious grave injustice that’s taking place. But again, this rules out a war of aggression from the start. There has to be a just cause. Similarly, secondly, there has to be right intention. A nation goes to war to end just grave injustice or to restore peace. But again, you can’t just go to war because you don’t like your enemy. You don’t like the nation next door. You can’t go simply because of vengeance. A third principle would also be that a just war needs to be waged by a legitimate authority. This would rule out individual actors or groups, but it needs to be a legitimate authority. Fourth would be last resort. Again, Christians are called to be people of peace. You don’t go to war for just any reason. Christians should never be the people itching to go to war. You exhaust all options before you think about war Fifth, there would need to be proportionate objectives, all things considered in terms of lives that might be lost or money that might be lost. You want to make sure that basically what I’m trying to say is that the cure can’t be worse than the disease. The things that you might lose in a war can’t outweigh what you’re trying to remedy. And then I think finally there needs to be a reasonable chance of success I would point people to Luke chapter 14, where Jesus talks about, again, there needs to be a reasonable chance of success for you to actually engage in warfare.
SPEAKER 04 :
Those are six excellent points, and probably most of our viewers and listeners have never really thought about some of these principles of war. But there is the other side to all of this, and how a war can potentially be waged ethically. Is that an issue that you can address today?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, briefly, Jody, those six criteria are things that need to be in place before you go to war. But once you’re actually in war, let me give you three other criteria that ethicists have articulated. Again, going back to Augustine, one would be noncombatant immunity. Christians who are engaging in war ethically, they’re going to target military objectives, not civilian populations. You know, when you’re in war, in the fog of war, different commanders can be tempted to kind of adopt a consequentialist ethic. The ends justify the means. But again, I think there needs to be noncombatant immunity. Secondly, another criteria of just war would be proportional force. You limit the use of your force to only what is necessary to achieve your objectives. The Allies followed this in World War II. They would bomb munitions factories, but not places where they knew civilians would gather. And then the third criteria would simply just be good faith. Justice demands the enemy is treated humanely. You don’t abuse prisoners of war. You don’t use human shields. You don’t use chemical weapons. That’s one of the reasons Hamas is such an egregious actor on the world stage. They intentionally embed themselves in civilian populations. They’ll launch rockets from the tops of hospitals, schools, and mosques. And then when Israel retaliates, you have these civilians who are killed. The principles of just war would completely say that is inappropriate and unethical.
SPEAKER 04 :
And of course, if there is war, Christians need to be crying out to God for his intervention and aid. We certainly saw that many times in our own nation’s history, beginning with the Revolutionary War. If I can’t shift gears with you, David, there’s so much happening in the news. I think about an absolutely remarkable exchange. In fact, I showed a portion of it a little bit earlier in the program. happened about a week or so ago. Governor Gavin Newsom, a liberal governor from California, literally turned heads with comments that he made about female sports during a podcast that he had. And I played it. I think we’ve got this again. Guys, if you’ve got this, play clip six again for me.
SPEAKER 19 :
I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. I’m not wrestling. I’m not relaxing with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you, but I revere sports. And so the issue of fairness is completely legit. Let me step back, say completely fair on the issue of fairness. I completely agree. So that’s easy to call out the unfairness of that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Doug, give me your thoughts. What do you make of Governor Newsom’s comments here?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, well, Jody, I want to break this news here on Washington Watch, and it’s that Gavin Newsom wants to be president. Remember in late 2027 or early 2028, whenever the announcement comes, that you heard it here first, Gavin Newsom wants to be president. And I think, you know, looking at this issue, you know, Gavin Newsom is savvy. You don’t become, I think he served eight years as lieutenant governor. He’s now in his second term as governor. You don’t get to represent the largest state in our union by being politically naive. So he is savvy. But it is so disingenuous. Gavin Newsom has been the tip of the spear as far as the left’s culture wars, literally going back decades. In 2004, when he was mayor of San Francisco, he urged the county clerk there in San Francisco to break state and federal law to change the marriage template to allow same-sex couples to get married there in San Francisco. Again, he’s been the tip of the spear, even as governor, you know, 2022. So three years ago, it seems ancient, he signed legislation that basically made California a sanctuary city for minor children who identify as transgender. So if a minor child was in California and wants to get these irreversible procedures, state law would prohibit officials from other states coming to rescue those children. I could give you a whole list of executive orders under Gavin Newsom. He’s put out executive orders requiring schools and health care providers to provide so-called gender-affirming care, which is just a euphemism for those puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and physical irreversible surgeries. And so I think in one sense, Jody, the fact that he’s making these comments shows that he recognizes the culture is changing. This is an issue that’s probably 80-20 right now as far as most Americans are coming out against the transgenderism in sports and for minor children getting these procedures. And so I think, again, Gavin Newsom wants to be president and he recognizes that the tide is turning. And I think, you know, if he really believes that this is so unfair, Let’s see if the governor will exercise some leadership there in Sacramento and actually lead on this issue. If he really, really believes the current situation is unfair for women. But you know what, Jody? I’m not going to hold my breath on that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, but I do think it’s a great point you bring out. I think this is a good indicator that truth is prevailing on this issue and that he sees that. And he’s checking the polls and checking things out and wants to get on the side of the majority. And as you say, perhaps for political ambitions that he has. Another part of all this, though, David, is how literally enraged so many on the left are. that he, that Newsom came out even talking, number one, to a conservative about this to start with, but that he seems to have changed his position.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh yeah, Jody, today there was a New York Times op-ed that just blasted the governor for even having the conversation and for daring to kind of challenge what has become just the liberal talking point on this issue. And my take on this, Jody, is that the left in this country, to their own political detriment, is committed to the success of the LGBT movement. You had a congressman from Massachusetts not too long ago come out and say pretty much the same thing, that he thought it was unfair for boys to be able to compete against women. He said he wouldn’t want his daughters having to compete against boys. And yet, when he had a chance to vote against the Women’s… I think it was the Protection of Women and Girls Sports Act, he voted against it. And so I really do think that it’s going to take the left losing a couple more elections for them to actually change their position. Because for what we can tell, they are committed. Their base is committed to this. And again, it’s dangerous politically, but I think they’re committed to it, at least for the foreseeable future.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. Well, while we are talking about the West Coast, the Left Coast, there was another issue that came out this past week with the Oregon’s governor there, Tina Kotick, announcing that March 10th would be Abortion Providers Appreciation Day. It’s stunning to me. What a proclamation. What does something like this tell us about where we are culture-wise?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, for the most recent year that we have statistics, 2023, there was just over 10,000 abortions in Oregon. And so, of course, the way I look at this, Jody, is this is clear virtue signaling on the part of this very left-leaning governor. But it’s not just virtue signaling. She has also supported ghoulish legislation. As governor, she has worked hard. to pass legislation that actually funds abortion, including one of the bills that she passed, actually allows minor children to access abortion without parental consent. And of course that same bill would also allow minor children to get these so-called gender affirming care without parental consent. And so it’s more than just a performative pronouncement. I wish we could just write it off. Unfortunately, the governor of Oregon has backed it up with actual legislation that, again, is harmful. So it shows us, even though we live in a world that’s post-Roe, this battle is far from over. One of the reasons I wrote the book that’s coming out in a couple of weeks is because these issues are going to continue to crop up. And it increasingly maps out, Jody, on red and blue states. If you’re in a red state, you can You know, it’s generally going to be more pro-life. If you’re in a blue state, it’s going to become more pro-abortion. Again, as Christians, we don’t think in terms of blue and red or conservative and liberal. This is an issue of moral right and moral wrong and what’s happening in Oregon. And there’s 10,000 babies that I wish were alive today but aren’t because of these very permissive abortion laws in the state of Oregon.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, great point. And listen, there’s just a couple minutes left, but that does bring us back to your book. I’m glad you brought that up again. What are some of the biblical arguments that you make in your book? Give me a couple of examples.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, very quickly, Jody, you know, the Bible is one of the most profound pro-life texts that you will find anywhere. A couple themes that I like to talk about is the Bible gives us the image of God that teaches us that all of us are made in God’s image. All of us has value and dignity because we’re created in God’s image. You have the prohibition against shedding innocent blood. You have the manslayer laws in the Old Testament that value human life. You see Jesus’s ethic and how he treats children. But two texts I’ll give you very briefly. Psalm 139 verses 13 through 16. I would encourage everyone to read that text and just realize that King David, he’s talking about God’s presence and he’s thinking about God’s presence. The continuity he sees between his prenatal self and the adult king writing the psalm. And you see the clear continuity And then Luke chapter 1, verse 39 through 45, I think that’s the text, Jody, where Mary and Elizabeth, they’re both pregnant. They have this conversation. John the Baptist leaps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb, a clear sign of personhood. And Elizabeth refers to Mary as a mother at a point when most women don’t even know they’re pregnant and refers to Jesus as Lord using that Christological title, referring to Jesus while he’s in utero. Unbelievably profound pro-life text, which you find all throughout the Bible. And so that’s some of the quick themes that come to mind that I think as Christians, we need to be able to articulate those to our friends and neighbors as we’re making this case for life in a world post-Roe.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I encourage everyone to get a copy of the book, Life After Road. David Claussen, always great to have you. Thanks for keeping us up to speed, looking at it all through the lens of Scripture. Deeply appreciate it. I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
God bless.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, that wraps up this week and this edition of Washington Watch. Have a great weekend. We’ll be back with you next week right here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 08 :
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.
