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This engaging episode highlights President Trump’s strategic use of the Alien Enemies Act in tackling gang-related threats within the U.S. In conversation with experts, Jody Heiss explores the legal implications of Biden’s auto pen scandal, questioning the legitimacy of several presidential pardons. The episode further looks into policies shaping America’s economic landscape, evaluating ongoing tariffs and their long-term impacts under the Trump administration.
SPEAKER 12 :
From the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, good afternoon and welcome to this Monday, St. Patrick’s Day edition of Washington Watch. And speaking of St. Patrick’s Day, did you hear the latest news coming from Ireland about the increased population? Well, they tell me it’s Dublin. Thought you’d enjoy that. Again, welcome to this edition of Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss. An honor to be filling in today for Tony and so glad to have you joining us as well. Coming up on today’s program, President Trump is making it extremely clear that he is not going to sit idly by as Yemen-based Houthi terrorist groups engage in piracy, in violence, and in terrorism in the Red Sea.
SPEAKER 16 :
In our fight against terrorists, President Trump ordered the launch of decisive and powerful U.S. military deterrence operations against the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen. Following the strike, Secretary Rubio noted that the president, quote, sent a powerful and clear message.
SPEAKER 09 :
That was U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce earlier today, and I’ll be discussing this in just a little while with Congressman Tim Burchett, who, among other committees, is on the Foreign Affairs Committee. And President Trump has also taken some decisive action on terrorists who made their way into this country thanks to the open border policy of the previous Biden administration.
SPEAKER 14 :
We removed in one day over 200 terrorists DANGEROUS PEOPLE, INCLUDING MS-13. PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY MANDATED PRESIDENT TRUMP DEAL WITH THE BORDER CRISIS, DEAL WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND DEAL WITH ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIME, AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE DID. WE REMOVED TERRORISTS. THAT SHOULD BE A CELEBRATION. WE REMOVED TERRORISTS FROM THIS COUNTRY. I STAND BY WHAT THE PRESIDENT DID. I SUPPORT 100%.
SPEAKER 09 :
That was President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, earlier today. So as he mentioned, why isn’t everyone celebrating this action? Well, I’ll discuss this later in the program with Todd Binsman from the Center for Immigration Studies. And do you remember just probably a couple of months ago, House Speaker Mike Johnson shared an interaction that he had with then President Biden about the memorandum that was put on new liquefied natural gas exports? And President Biden was completely unaware that he had made that decision.
SPEAKER 03 :
And he looks at me, stunned, and he said, I didn’t do that. And I said, Mr. President, yes, you did. It occurred to me, Barry, he was not lying to me. He genuinely did not know what he had signed.
SPEAKER 09 :
Wow. Well, interactions like those are being seen through a new light with the discovery of the Biden administration’s use of an automated signature for many of the former president’s pardons. I’ll be discussing this later with Kyle Brosnan. He’s the chief counsel for the Heritage Foundation’s oversight project, which is the group that pulled the curtain on this particular scandal. And then there’s some good news to cover today.
SPEAKER 02 :
The latest CPI report last week beat expectations. Inflation is cooling. Core inflation dropped for the first time in four months. The national average of the price of gas is down 42 cents from one year ago. And there was also a new report out this morning about wholesale egg prices. They continue to fall. So I think the American people do have great reason to be optimistic about this economy.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, that was White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt earlier today, and I’ll be discussing what the latest economic indicators are telling us when I’m joined by Dr. Dave Brat from Liberty University. So as usual, we’ve got a lot coming your way today. You don’t want to miss any of it. But if by chance you do, of course, our website is TonyPerkins.com. You want to be sure to keep that handy. All right, let’s jump into our first item for today. Over the weekend, U.S. Central Command initiated a series of operations across Yemen consisting of several precision strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi terror group that happens to be based there. And for the past couple of years, you probably know by now, the Houthis have been targeting military and commercial shipping all throughout the Red Sea. And effectively, that’s been shutting down some crucial waterways for global and commercial trade. And in the announcement that came about in this operation, CENTCOM said that the series of actions were intended to defend American interests. They were intended to deter our enemies. And they were intended to restore freedom of navigation. So how might this move impact the area and all beyond? We’re trying to get on with us right now. Congressman Tim Burchett, do we have Congressman Burchett? Okay, we’re having some difficulty getting Tim Burchett, so while we’re waiting on him, hopefully he’ll join me here in just a second. While we’re waiting on him, I want to bring in Matt Carpenter, who is the director of FRC Action. We’ve got a lot of political activity going on as well. Matt, thank you for taking some time and for joining us.
SPEAKER 13 :
Hey, thanks for having me, Jody. Great to be with you.
SPEAKER 09 :
All right. While we’re waiting on Congressman Burchett, let me throw a couple of things out to you from the political world that that maybe we’ll be able to get some some answers to some interesting, interesting polling information coming out right now that’s grabbing a lot of attention. Why don’t you kind of give us the 30,000 foot perspective of what’s going on?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, there’s been a lot that’s been made of kind of how the Democrats are navigating this new environment they find themselves in, shut out essentially of any kind of true governing position here in Washington, D.C. They do have enough senators in the Senate to block legislation there. But NBC News came out with a poll recently asking voters, how do you feel about the two political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats? It’s worth noting that NBC News typically is a pollster that’s going to produce results favorable towards the left. They’ve never really produced results that have favored the right. And so that’s something to kind of consider here when you’ve taken into consideration that they’ve discovered that just 7% of voters feel very strongly that the Democratic Party is moving in the right direction. In fact, 55% of Americans have a negative view of the Democratic Party, including 38% who feel very negatively about them. Those are just astonishing numbers, frankly. They’re in a tough spot. They’re leaderless. They’re shut out. And they’ve got a tough hill to climb here, Jody.
SPEAKER 09 :
So what is responsible for all of this? I mean, a lot of things come to my mind, but you keep a pretty good pulse on this. What is it that the American people are saying, do you think, to the Democratic Party? Why such a negative outlook on them?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I think back to the campaign, they spent a lot of time using a lot of ugly words and smearing their opponents, tearing them down. The word fascist came out at the end there, just really ugly discourse. They tried to smear their political opponents as authoritarian. They’ve raised the specter that our representative form of government, they’ve said democracy is at risk over and over again. So they’ve now found themselves in this position of, do we try to be a part of governing the country seriously? And that includes compromise. Or do we allay the concerns of our base and play to the small segment of the American population that expects us to obstruct and deny and throw our hands in the air? They’re in a tough spot. And unfortunately, I think for them, they’ve blown past a lot of the off ramps. to essentially do that, and they’re playing up to their base now. They’re digging in and they’re gonna be this obstructionist element here. And so I think that’s gonna pay dividends for them with this small segment of their base, but I think it’s gonna complicate their efforts to tack back to the center and to play to the swing vote.
SPEAKER 09 :
Very, very interesting. Matt Carpenter, I appreciate so much you coming on and breaking some of this down. It’s really fascinating. I don’t recall a time like this when the Democratic Party has been hurting so much. But thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. I want to go back now. We have Congressman Tim Burchett by phone. And Congressman Burchett, thank you so much for being able to join us. We appreciate it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you for having me on, Jody. I’m sorry I can’t get a visual. I’m in a tunnel, so it’s a little – I’m in a bunker almost, so I apologize.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, just stay safe if you’re in the bunker there. Yes, we hear you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Let me ask you – Nothing like that. We’re good.
SPEAKER 09 :
All right. Let me ask you about the attacks and so forth going back and forth among the Houthis. What more can you tell us right now about this operation?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, the straits that that’s going through, about 15% of the world trade goes through there. And there’s a question of who’s going to profit the most. It just shows to me the main thing that we get through there, we’ve transferred our goods going in another direction, is our oil supply. That just makes it more profitable. apparent that we need to drill in America. We need to develop our own energy. We had a president for four years that was in for four years and was asked by Speaker Johnson about why he canceled gas contracts. He didn’t even know it. So we’ve got a quick turnaround, and we’ve got to be able to protect that area. But I have a bill dealing with Dealing with that, it allows the president to actually hire outside contractors. There’s constitutional precedents for it in the Constitution where he’s allowed to do that. And I believe this is one of those cases, you know, we don’t need to have our whole Navy. We got a bunch of, basically a bunch of goat herders that Iran has basically armed just to cause troubles around the world. And they’re doing a pretty darn good job of it. And we need to put it down as quick as possible and get trade back to it. But it’s not worth a world war. But I think it just shows how volatile the world is and how out of touch Washington, D.C. is. We’ve spent $250 billion unchecked in Ukraine. It has no economic, hardly any interest with us at all. And yet we allow this kind of shenanigans to go around the world, and we hardly do anything about it until Donald Trump got in the White House.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, it makes all the difference in the world. Of course, Islamic Republic, Iran, so forth, the Houthis are all saying that they’re going to hold us responsible for what we do, seemingly trying to act as though we’re somehow the aggressors here on the offense. Are you in agreement with President Trump’s actions to this point? Do you think he’s making the right decision?
SPEAKER 11 :
Up to this point, but I do want to caution folks, the group that profits most from that area is China, and you have to wonder why China is not involved in it, and the corporation, of course, is an oil corporation. I think it just reiterates what he’s been saying all along, that we need to drill and drill, baby, drill. I don’t like slogans that much, but that’s a pretty accurate one. We need to start developing our energy here. And don’t let the Democrats and the liberals say, oh, we issued more oil permits. What they didn’t issue, as you know, Jody, is your time on the Hill. They didn’t issue processing and pipe permits. laying so that you could drill it, but you couldn’t go anywhere with it. You couldn’t process it. So we’re in a position that’s not going to happen overnight. It has to go through. It’s going to take a little bit of time. But I hope this is a good deterrent and let our enemies know there is a new sheriff in town, and his name is Donald J. Trump.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. Speaking of the new sheriff, we’ve only got about 30 seconds or so, but what do you think about the president sending Matthews terrorists as Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador? Real quickly.
SPEAKER 11 :
I think it’s a great move. I think he’s constitutionally legitimate. And the judge, they did it. That’s a screwy setup. It’s not a normal judiciary-type situation where some judge out of Washington, D.C., appointed by Obama… These people just want to wreck our country. These people are rapists, murderers. They are child traffickers. We need to send them out as fast as possible. And the president was correct in his dealings, 100 percent, Joey.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you, Congressman Tim Burchard of Tennessee, and thank you for joining us in the midst of the tunnel there. We appreciate it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you, Jody.
SPEAKER 09 :
All right, friends, coming up, much more coming your way. Next, a potential scandal with an auto pen under the Biden administration. It’s all coming your way right after the break. Stay tuned.
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During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we’re making an eternal impact. 2024 was a year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, DC. Last fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC’s outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God’s intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel’s peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government. Available now on the Stand Firm app, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us in standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 06 :
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.
SPEAKER 09 :
Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am your host today, Jody Heiss. I’m honored to be filling in for Tony. All right. President Trump has called out former President Biden’s last-minute pardons over an alleged auto-pin scandal. Well, according to reporting from the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, many of Biden’s pardons were signed using an automated signature. And this includes many of the last-minute pardons for his family members, for Dr. Anthony Fauci, for House January 6th Committee members, and on and on. And Trump now is saying these pardons are void. Well, is he right? Now, what does the evidence show as it relates to all the auto pen? Well, here to go over this issue is Kyle Brosnan. He’s the chief counsel for the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. Kyle, welcome to Washington Watch. It’s great to have you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER 09 :
All right, this is an extremely interesting and potentially extremely important discussion here. Walk us through how the oversight project uncovered this potential scandal and what you found.
SPEAKER 07 :
Sure. So the Constitution vests certain powers in the president and president alone. And that includes things like signing bills into law and the power to issue pardons. And so we pulled all 51 clemency warrants that President Biden issued during his presidency that gave either a pardon or a prison commutation to about 2,400 people. And we looked at the signatures of those documents because this president’s signature is what makes that operational. It exercises the president’s power. And of those 51 warrants, we found that 32 were signed with an auto pen. And we also found that there were two auto pen signatures used. So 16 were signed with what we’re marking as auto pen A, and another 16 were signed with what we’re identifying as auto pen B.
SPEAKER 09 :
All right. I think probably most people know, but just for clarity’s sake, what is an auto pen?
SPEAKER 07 :
So an auto pen is a machine that affixes a principal’s signature onto something. And so usually the person will write out the signature, and it will be loaded onto a little card to which a staffer can insert into the machine. There’s a physical pen that sort of levitates above the paper and affixes the signature once you put the card in and you press the button. And so it’s a good way for people that have to sign a lot of things, like members of Congress, like yourself, to quickly sign things like constituent letters or even Christmas cards or stuff like that. But for the use of a core exercise of presidential power that only belongs to the president, it is really unprecedented with what we found here.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, and this is potentially an enormous legal issue. Can others, let me ask you this, can others have access to that auto pen besides the president?
SPEAKER 07 :
So we would assume that there is some sort of paper trail documenting who has access to it. I mean, we’re not expecting the president to hear to sign every Christmas card he sends out. That would be silly. But for something as core presidential power as signing a bill into law or issuing a pardon to somebody, there should be written procedures as to who has access for it in a paper trail on authorization here. Because, you know, It’s really important to examine this in the context of President Biden’s mental decline during their independency of his presidency. But by the end, he was clearly out of it. And there are real questions as to whether he authorized those pardons, what the trail of evidence is for those authorizations, if they even exist, and whether he knew what he was doing when those commutations were signed with an auto pen throughout his administration.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, we showed a clip earlier in the program with Speaker Mike Johnson having had a conversation with President Biden over liquid natural gas. And the president had no idea that he’d signed the law. And so my question, that would indicate a problem. Was this pen mainly used for pardons? Have you looked into whether or not there were other presidential actions that were signed by auto pen?
SPEAKER 07 :
So we’re requesting copies of enrolled bills from the National Archives. So the act of the president signing his signature to a bill for it to become a law, that’s what the Constitution requires. Two houses of Congress passed the bill and the president signed it. So we’re waiting on those now. But we have really focused on the pardon power, because those clemency warrants are available to the public. They’re posted on the Department of Justice’s website. And that is what we have honed in on thus far. But our investigation is continuing into other exercises of presidential power, including copies of enrolled bills and enrolled executive orders.
SPEAKER 09 :
Extremely interesting. All right. Well, let’s go then with with the clemency and so forth. These signatures with the auto pen, the president now, President Trump, is saying they’re void. So what does that mean potentially for those who were pardoned? Is there a possibility for legal action against them now?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I think it bears further investigation. I mean, we need to examine a couple of key questions here. Did the president authorize the auto pen signature for each and every clemency warrant that has an auto pen signature? Who had access to the auto pen? What were the procedures in place there? Because if those clemency warrants were signed when the president did not authorize them or did not even have knowledge of who he was pardoning, then you get into really sticky legal territory there. So I think it definitely warrants further investigation here to figure out what the procedures were in the Biden White House, who had access to this, and what exactly happened here. Because remember, it’s important to remember that this is all in the context of the president’s You know, bowing out of the presidential race in 2024, special counsel Robert Herr refusing to prosecute the president in part because he is a well-being elderly man with a poor memory. He didn’t think he can get a conviction there, but he had enough evidence to present it to a jury in a hypothetical criminal trial here. So you have a president whose mental facilities are declining significantly throughout his presidency to the point where he doesn’t run for reelection. And now you have him that you know, you have clemency warrants bearing his signature that he did not even sign at the end here. So there’s plenty of information to investigate further here.
SPEAKER 09 :
And tons of question marks all over the place. And we’re literally just a few seconds left. But you mentioned a second auto pin. Was that at a different location?
SPEAKER 07 :
We don’t know where the auto pens were located. We literally sat in a room with all of the warrants printed out, and the signatures are a little bit different. And so there’s one signature has a longer version of the junior in the president’s name. They have different shapes of the letter B in the last name. There’s a period in the place. So the signatures themselves are different, which may be an indication of multiple auto pens.
SPEAKER 09 :
Kyle Brosnan, Chief Counsel for Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. Thank you so much. Incredible story. All right, friends, much more coming your way on The Economy next. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, beautiful for spacious skies.
SPEAKER 01 :
At the 2025 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, hundreds gathered with Christian and government leaders at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. to pray for the nation and ask God to forgive us of our sins.
SPEAKER 04 :
We gather here not to appeal to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are appealing to heaven. Today we make our appeal not in the authority of a political party or in the name of a denomination. We come in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ. who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and we have been commissioned to operate in that authority.
SPEAKER 05 :
Father, we pray in Jesus’ name for our complacency, our greed, our pride, our gluttony, our sloth, and tolerance of sin.
SPEAKER 16 :
Lord, your word is the food that can make America healthy again. May your word be exalted and believed in our nation again.
SPEAKER 19 :
Lord, we ask that you allow us to become that shining city on the hill once more for your love, your grace, and your mercy.
SPEAKER 20 :
We thank you for your love and your grace and your mercy, for the opportunity that you have provided us to heal our land. We ask you to do it, Lord. We ask you for the wisdom, discernment, and stamina to do the thing that you have called each one of us, all of us here, to do. May we be found faithful. We trust it, pray it, believe it all. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPEAKER 09 :
Back to Washington Watch. Good afternoon. Hope you’re having a great day. I’m your host filling in today for Tony, Jody Heiss. Thank you for being a part of the program today. All right. Earlier today, the White House touted literally the USDA National Shell Egg Index report, which indicated that the price of eggs across the United States has dropped dramatically. The report actually indicated that the price of a dozen large white eggs, which is the most commonly purchased type of egg, has fallen to $3.45 from, in the end of January, a record high of $6.55. So almost a 50% reduction in the price of eggs. And of course, that is welcome news for breakfast and brunch lovers all across the country. And that’s just one of the positive trends that we’re seeing. And now here to serve up more about all of this is Dr. Dave Brat. He’s a former member of Congress, former colleague of mine when I was there. He now serves as a senior vice president of business relations at Liberty University. Dr. Brat, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 10 :
Congressman Jody, great to be on, brother.
SPEAKER 09 :
Always great to have you. Thanks for joining us. Good to have you. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you. All right, let’s talk about the price of eggs. What a great break for Americans all across the country.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, well, I’m a Ph.D. in economics, very sophisticated. And so my deep analysis says the reason for that price reduction is Biden quit killing chickens. And that’s – Man, they didn’t give you a PhD for nothing, I can tell you. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. That’s what you get. And so, you know, when the supply of chickens goes up, the price goes down like everything else. And so that’s all good news. The bad news is the press, of course, will not report on that or anything, right? The press, no mainstream economist – will report on the top three issues in the Trump Republican agenda, which is the border invasion, the endless wars, the 36 trillion in debt and inflation. You’ve never seen a leading economist report the total cost of any of those three major things that cause Americans concern. And so that’s the major cause of concern, right? The media is just out of control.
SPEAKER 09 :
So let me ask you this. We’re now just 50 days, give or take, into this new administration. We’re already seeing the price of eggs cut in half. What else? What other positive trends are we seeing right now?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, you’re seeing the main positive trend came out in just a side note from President Trump the other day. He said, I’m quoting, in effect, but in effect, he said, I don’t care about the stock market. I care about the economy. And that’s a major miracle. And people will not understand the full force of what that means. But the economy is what’s good for manufacturing and the middle class and the entrepreneurial spirit and the small business person. 10% of the rich own 90% of the stock, right? And the Federal Reserve has been intimately involved in protecting the rich, rich class for the past 40 years. And now the American people are catching on to this little trick. So the good news is he’s shifting. And the tariff piece and the geopolitics with China, Russia, Mexico, Canada tariffs, no one in the mainstream press wants to explain what’s going on. But what’s going on is he’s trying to put capital back in the United States of America. He got $100 billion from Taiwan in one sitting, one deal, and then many other deals with Mexico and China coming in. But he’s getting factories, capital equipment, tools in the hands of American workers. And when you do that, the American workers are going to get richer. And then he’s trying to send back the illegals. And the Democrats are protecting the illegal drug dealers who are trying to export. We’re not even out of mass deportation. We’re just trying to get rid of the drug dealers. and the Democrats are funneling money through USAID, the Department of Education, everything, the latest news clips, right? So they’re being embarrassed. They’re at 30% polling, and that’s what’s going on.
SPEAKER 09 :
So let me, you brought up the tariffs, okay? There’s a lot of back and forth right now with that. Unpack for us the pluses and the minuses of President Trump’s tariff policies.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, well, if everyone were angels and everyone had low tariffs, very low tariffs, then the classical economics says, hey, if you slap on tariffs, you’re going to hurt your consumer a little bit. Prices might go up a little bit, et cetera. But that’s not the case. If you look up the 22 richest countries, the G20, the rich European countries, the U.S. has the second lowest tariff out of those 20. And I mean by half. Wow. And so the fairness factor is we don’t have free trade. We don’t have free markets. We’re being ripped off. And I’m not even talking about monopolies and oligarchs and all that. This is just tariffs from our friends, and they’re tariffing the daylights out of us. And we have been paying the bill for the post-World War II liberal order, including the defense budget for the rest of the world, on top of being tariffed. So they’re penalizing us for helping them. So Trump is the first guy since Reagan who said, This makes no sense.
SPEAKER 09 :
A lot of great information there. So overall, we’ve got less than a minute left. What do you think about President Trump’s approach to the economy so far? What kind of grade do you give him?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I’m giving him a flat A because all I care about is the long run and the future of this country. And as Elon Musk, a Democrat, said three months before the election, if we lose this election, I’m afraid we lose the republic. So when you’ve got a Democrat saying that and switching parties because he’s a freedom guy, he’s a libertarian, he’s a little confused on the Democrat Party and big government being a libertarian. But other than that, he’s doing great work. And so that, I give Trump an A. He’s moving us in the right direction on the real economy. Skip the stock market for a little bit. We’re going to put this country back in great shape again.
SPEAKER 09 :
Dr. Dave Brat, Senior Vice President of Business Relations at Liberty University and a former colleague in Congress. Thank you so much for breaking down this economic news. All right, friends, after the break, we’re going to talk about, it’s come up a couple of times already, the Venezuelan gang members being sent to El Salvador. Stay tuned. It’s coming your way.
SPEAKER 17 :
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.
SPEAKER 15 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you are the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash 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 09 :
Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your host today, Jody Heiss, sitting in for Tony. Listen, before I go to the next guest, I want to invite you to check out our new 13-week training course. It’s called God in Government. It’s only found on our Stand Firm app. So if you don’t have Stand Firm app, you want that. You want to access the God of Government course. It’s a video-driven, very much Bible-based training course, and it’s designed to help people like you and me to make an impact for biblical truth. And right now, every Monday, we’re releasing a new session. And today, this is one you’ll want to absolutely go check out. Today, we release the Relationship Between Church and State. Folks, this session is so critically important. It explains a proper relationship between church and state and how it all ought to be and how the church ought to be a prophetic voice guiding civil authority and being engaged in it all. If you don’t yet have the Stand Firm app, go get the Stand Firm app. And to get the course, you can simply text course, the word course, to 67742. Trust me, you want to get this thing right away. All right, President Trump is trying to use right now an 18th century law to deport Venezuelan gang members. The White House recently authorized the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. against the Venezuelan gang, the Tren de Aragua. And a judge has since then put a pause on this and trying to stop the deportations from taking place. But will that hold? We’ll wait and see. But will this law even actually help in the process of deporting these criminal members? Well, here to discuss this topic is Todd Binsman. He’s a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. He’s also an award-winning journalist, a counterterrorism expert, and an author. Todd, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to have you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good to be here. Thank you.
SPEAKER 09 :
All right, so let’s talk about this Alien Enemies Act that virtually none of us have ever heard of. Certainly, I don’t know of anybody that was alive when it came into act. Tell us more about this. How does it aid in this particular scenario?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, leave it to Trump to try something completely out of the box, at least in modern times. The Alien Enemies Act has not been used more than three times since the 17th, 18th century. The last time I think it was used was during World War II to round up Italian, German, and Japanese people in the United States and put them in internment camps. The idea behind it is that a president has the authority to deport or detain people who are thought to owe their allegiance to a country other than the United States, that have not pledged their allegiance to America. our country. And originally, it was, you know, put in motion back during a time of war between the monarchs, you know, the French and English and us. And the idea was, you know, we should be able to, we need to round up these French people and And so, it goes way back. And the modern-day use of it really just helps the president cut through judicial due process claims for trendy Aragua guys. These are terrorists and murderers and extortionists and rapists and all the rest. That’s what they do for a living. But if you try to deport them, they have due process. They can tie it up and gum everything up. And for years on end. But if you use the Alien Enemies Act, you don’t have to wait through all of that. You can just round them up and put them on a plane and get rid of them. So that’s the gambit. That’s what he’s trying to do. There’s all sorts of litigation, you know, And why the ACLU and others are so interested in protecting Tren de Aragua terrorists is up for grabs, why they would want to do that. Maybe it’s this idea that it’s a slippery slope today, Tren de Aragua, tomorrow you’re Gardner. I think maybe that has something to do with it. But anyway, that’s kind of where we are. You know, they shipped off several hundred to El Salvador, which has agreed to take criminal aliens from all over the world that we decide to send to them. Very nice of them to do that, by the way.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, absolutely. You know, the president is calling this Trinidad-Iragua group a hybrid criminal state. I think that’s personally a good tag to put on them. But as you mentioned, these really are just some horrible people who have committed some heinous crimes. Do we know exactly how many members of this specific gang have been apprehended or deported?
SPEAKER 08 :
Just in general across the country, you know, many, many hundreds have been put in detention and many of them have been deported or getting ready to be deported. And this particular plane, I think, had about 300 on it. But not all of them were enemy alien act people. Some of them just went through the regular process. They call it Title VIII removal proceeding, and those are legit. They had them all mixed in together. But TDA is a designated terrorist organization now. You can call them terrorists. They moved in over the border from mainly Venezuela. over the course of four years and set up shop in 17 different states at least that we know of, where they’ve terrorized communities, committed murders, rapes, extortion, took over apartment buildings in half a dozen cities, not just Aurora, Colorado, by the way. They need to be uprooted and thrown out of the country. It’s that simple.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, and that process is underway. Now, you mentioned the ACLU, and of course we have this judge who has blocked this law, and he’s saying because the government is so quickly deporting these supposed gang members, what the— I hear that, and I’m kind of thinking, well, that’s the idea. We want, as you just said, to get rid of these thugs. What do you think the judge is really trying to accomplish with this action, trying to put a pause on it all? What’s behind it?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, there may very well be legitimate legal questions that he wants to study or needs to suss out about whether the Alien Enemies Act is the appropriate way to use it on these guys because they’re immigrants who are in different states of processes already. So I think the question is, can you use that while you’re in an asylum proceeding, or if you are appealing a decline in benefits of some sort, or that you’re here on a humanitarian parole authorization for two years and the government already gave you that. So now why is the government, can they take it away? So there are some legal questions I think that they want to answer. I’m not a lawyer on that, but You know, the Trump administration believes that that judge is politically biased and a leftist, and they’re trying to get that judge removed right now from the case. We’ll see what happens.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, if the things that you bring up are legitimate legal questions, that’s one thing. But if it is… a political action that’s being taken by the judge, that’s an entirely different matter altogether. And it’s shameful that we even have to think this way, but there’s already been so much of that that has taken place. It certainly rises questions.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, it wouldn’t be a terrible thing if this case and others that are sort of out of the box thinking got to the Supreme Court and we got a ruling on it. Birthright citizenship. I mean, there’s a lot of these sort of things that need to be settled at the highest level, the highest court in the land. And they could very well break in Trump’s direction and then The whole matter is settled, and it’s early enough in the administration that he then has three years to use it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, great point. All right, but let’s just suppose, plain devil’s advocate, that this ruling somehow holds. Both the president, the administration, and the vast majority of Americans don’t want murderers and rapists and thugs, violent criminals to remain in the United States. So should this ruling somehow hold, what do you think the Trump administration does at that point? How can they or how will they continue to attempt these deportations?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, every case is different. So in a case where somebody has a criminal conviction and they’ve served their time, the law says you can pick them up and fly them home, deport them out of the country. But if they haven’t been convicted, they’ve just been charged and they’re in a proceeding, you’re innocent until presumed guilty. I mean, until found guilty. But you’re in some sort of—you’re locked in some kind of an immigration process where you’re appealing a ruling and the judge hasn’t quite decided yet. You know, they may have to just detain that person during the course of the hearings until the adjudication is carried out, meted out, and then pick them up. And so it’s not— But that’s why they use this, the Alien Enemies Act, is because that one allows you to just cast aside all of those kinds of things, the argument goes anyway, and pick them up, and no matter what process they’re in, and ship them home.
SPEAKER 09 :
And I think a lot of us— Because the process—go ahead, finish it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I mean, a lot of us, we want to see TDA terrorists deported, but we also want to see rule of law upheld. We are a nation of laws, and we don’t want to just cut through things wrongly, I guess, if that’s a good way to say that. I mean, that’s why the courts are here, but you know, if it’s, it’s TDA today, but tomorrow it’s just like some housekeeper or something is the argument, uh, for, for, for doing what they’re for challenging, I think.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, and that’s a, you know, you can always see that. But this is clearly some violent criminals that we’re dealing with here. We’re not talking about a house cleaner by any stretch here. But you brought this up with the ACLU and what they say. I mean, they’re standing on behalf of these gang members, and one of their arguments is that they’re not a recognized state, and yet Trump is responding saying this is a hybrid state, a hybrid terrorist state. And you admitted you’re not a lawyer, but do you have an opinion about where this particular argument goes one way or the other?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, not really. I mean, my feeling is that the foreign terrorist organization designation might be the next go-to for them. Because if we can determine and rule that they are, in fact, TDA, that makes them a foreign terrorist. And they’re in the country illegally. They should be able to just pick them up. They don’t have a right. In a case like that, to be free on the streets, we should be able to pick them up and either charge them with terrorism or deport them as terrorists. If you’re a member of a designated terrorist organization, my belief is that you don’t have a right to be here. So they could go with that, too. If you’re ISIS or Osama bin Laden and you’re running around our country, we should be able to pick you up just on the basis that your group is a foreign terrorist organization and ship you out right away.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, great point. I understand that you recently returned from a visit to the southern border. I’ve been there many, many times, in fact, on every sector all across our southern border. Do you have, from your experience, do you have any insights that you can provide from your trip?
SPEAKER 08 :
Sure. I went to the Juarez, El Paso area. That’s the El Paso sector on the U.S. side. And I’ve been going down there for four years now. Every time I’ve ever gone there, it was just absolute chaos, manic upheaval of thousands of immigrants just pouring in over the wire and fighting to get in and battles with Texas DPS, etc. This time, it was all quiet on the southern front. They might get 30 to 60 a day coming through, trying to run through that sector that they catch. And all 30 to 60 of them are detained and deported immediately. Nobody is being released. And that’s why they stop coming, because nobody wants to spend a whole bunch of money on smuggling fees to to end up deported and detained. That’s not the way that they want their money to be used. So, the result is that the numbers are really, really down to historic numbers. I interviewed a lot of immigrants on the Mexican side in Juarez. And they are keenly aware that if they try, there are two fates that might await them. One is that, sorry, I got a dog. One is that the Americans will detain and deport you to your home country, all the way to your home country, unless you’re a Mexican citizen, in which case they’ll just put you over the border. Or they’ll refer you to prosecution for illegal entry or multiple illegal entries. And the people on the Juarez side were extremely aware that their money was not going to pay off or that they could end up in federal prison. We are putting people in federal prison right now for this. So it’s an incredibly potent disincentive. They don’t want to come. Absolutely. One last thing, if I have a second, is the smugglers.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s about all you have.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. Thank you.
SPEAKER 09 :
Todd Binsman, Senior National Security Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. Thank you so much. Fantastic conversation. I appreciate your insight so, so much. All right, friends, that wraps up this edition of Washington Watch. I want to thank you for joining us and for tuning in to today’s edition. Make sure you download the Stand Firm app and get the guiding government course. Have a great evening. We’ll see you tomorrow right here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 12 :
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.
