Jody also takes an in-depth look at California’s ongoing wildfire crisis, critically analyzing the state’s policy failures and the urgent need for reform. Joined by California Assemblyman Bill Saley, the conversation turns towards the state’s preparation strategies, legislative sessions, and the contentious political landscape impacting disaster management. Highlighting the pressing need for unity and action, this segment emphasizes how essential it is for both voters and policymakers to address the root causes of such devastating fires. Tune in to understand the complex tapestry of current affairs from a biblical worldview with insights from FRC’s David Claussen.
SPEAKER 01 :
From the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview, Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good afternoon. Welcome to this Friday edition of Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, your Friday host, Senior Vice President here at the Family Research Council and President of FRC Action. Such an honor to have you joining us today. We’ve got a lot to cover. We’re going to begin with this story. Just hours ago, Israel’s full cabinet… for the hostage and ceasefire deal that the Israeli Security Cabinet gave their stamp of approval on earlier this morning. And I’ll be getting the latest in just a moment when I’m joined by Chris Mitchell, the Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News. And after the decisive victory of President Trump in November, interesting that California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, called for a special legislative session to Trump-proof his state. Amazing. You would think that had he taken a little bit more time on fireproofing his state, perhaps the tragedy that we’ve been seeing unfolding in Los Angeles County could have been quite different. But is this just another example of leftist government officials driven by ideology and agendas rather than the needs of the people that they represent?
SPEAKER 11 :
While this wildfire is happening, and while people are trying to understand what’s going on and are worried about disaster relief, worried about the ability to get homeowner’s insurance, your chamber gaveled into a special legislative session to prepare for Donald Trump in a way that you are already able to do without a special legislative session. So, again, is now the right time for that?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, that was a reporter who’s confronting a Democrat California Assembly Speaker, Robert Rivas, and that happened a little bit earlier this week. So what’s going on now in the Golden State? Well, I’ll be joined here a little bit later in the program by California State Assemblyman Bill Assele to discuss the latest. So you’ll want to be sure to catch that. And speaking about being more focused on an agenda rather than the people, do you remember this ad from the Trump campaign?
SPEAKER 02 :
Kamala was the first to help pay for a prisoner’s sex change. The power that I had, I used it in a way that was about pushing for the movement, frankly, and the agenda. Kamala’s agenda is they, them, not you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, interestingly, there’s a new poll that was released this week that is confirming just how instrumental the so-called culture war issues really were in Trump’s election victory. And Terry Schilling of the American Principles Project will join me a little bit later in the program. to discuss that. And then to close out the program and to close out the week, I’ll be joined by David Claussen for our Biblical Worldview segment and discuss with him the incoming administration as well as the outgoing administration. So as always, we’ve got a lot coming your way today, and if you happen to miss any portion of it, The website, of course, is TonyPerkins.com. And let me also just remind you of this Sunday, this coming Sunday, FRC is co-hosting an inauguration praise and prayer convocation. It’s going to take place at the Greater New Hope Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. And for those of you who are not going to be there in person, I’ve got some really good news for you. You can join us online at The best way to do so is through our Stand Firm app. You can also follow it on Tony’s YouTube channel. But if you do not have our app, friends, now’s the time to get it so that you can have it wherever you go. And you can get the app wherever you typically get apps, or you can simply text the word APP to 67742. This is going to be a great time of worship and prayer for our nation, and we’d encourage you to come along and join us. All right, let’s jump into the top story for today. Earlier this morning, Israel’s security cabinet gave their approval on the hostage and ceasefire deal that negotiators had worked out between Jerusalem and Hamas. The deal was then advanced to the full Israeli cabinet, which just hours ago… So have we really reached the end of this 15-month war that started with Hamas’ attack on Israel? Joining me now to discuss this is Chris Mitchell. He’s the Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News. Chris, as always, thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. Hope you’re doing well.
SPEAKER 06 :
Doing well, Jody. Hope you are, too, and great to be with you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it’s pretty exciting times right now for Israel and the world and for many here in the United States as well. So the vote was originally expected yesterday, as we all know, but it was delayed after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Hamas had sought out some late concessions. But both sides have now confirmed, as I understand, that the issues have been resolved. So what were those issues? Where do we stand now, Chris?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we don’t know all the details of why the government delayed it for one day, but we do know that it likely, I believe on Sunday, some of the hostages will be released. There’s certain to be very, very emotional scenes of families being reunited after maybe 470 days. I would say, Jodi, this is a very, very difficult time for Israel and the Jewish people. Excited, relieved that some of the hostages will be released after the horrific conditions have survived. but also gut-wrenching that they know other hostages do remain. And the deal as it’s set up right now, Jody, with maybe about a thousand Palestinian prisoners, Many Israelis know that historically those prisoners go back to committing terror attacks. And so unless the deal doesn’t go through and these Palestinian prisoners are not released, it’s likely that other Israelis or Jews will be subject to terror attacks by these Palestinian prisoners. You can go back historically to 2011 when one IDF soldier, Gilad Shalit, was released for more than $1,000. Palestinian prisoners. And importantly, one of those prisoners was Yahya Sinwar, who eventually became the head of Hamas in Gaza, who masterminded the October 7 terror attacks, the worst since the Holocaust. So it’s a very, very difficult time for Israelis to both relish and celebrate the return of some hostages, but also know that this is a very difficult deal to swallow, and they’re looking forward to this is not necessarily the end of the war there in Gaza.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it is a bittersweet. I can’t imagine what the emotions are going to be like with that reuniting with families that you described. As we all know, Senoir is gone. Israel has shellacked so much of the infrastructure of the terrorist Hamas and Iran. I mean, on and on and on we could go, Hezbollah. Are you saying that by the release of these terrorist prisoners that they’ve not learned a lesson? Or do you and others there in Israel fully anticipate another attack?
SPEAKER 06 :
Many people do believe after this 15-month war plus, it seems like Hamas hasn’t changed its ideology, that it continues to do what it can, not only to survive, but also to reconstitute itself, to be able to commit another October 7th. You would think after being, as you said, shellacked in so many ways and so long, they would change maybe their ideology, but they haven’t. And we understand that Hamas has been recruiting new members, even though The IDF has reportedly killed maybe 15,000 to 17,000 of Hamas members. Part of this deal also, Judy, is that maybe 600 trucks per day will be going into Gaza. What happens to those trucks is Hamas actually has been stealing many of those trucks. They sell them. That’s how they get much of their funding right now. And so they will be able to be – continue to rearm and rebuild, given the details of this plan. And, you know, unbelievably, after so long and so much destruction inside Gaza and damage to Hamas, they’re still there. And, you know, one of the two of the main goals of the war, right after October 7th, were Hamas would be defeated militarily, and also they wouldn’t be able to govern Gaza after. Some people believe this deal puts those two goals in jeopardy. This ceasefire will last, I believe, for 42 days, and perhaps the war can begin after that. And we do have some reassuring statements by incoming National Security Advisor Mike Walz, who says part of the guarantee, in his words anyway, that Hamas won’t be able to govern Gaza again. That’s a bit reassuring, but some people are still concerned what this means for Hamas continuing to survive.
SPEAKER 08 :
What have others throughout the Middle East, other officials in particular, been saying about this?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we know there’s celebration in many parts, certainly in Gaza and Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, known as the West Bank. But also in Iran, they’re celebrating and different parts of the Middle East. Qatar is celebrating that part of the mediators is Egypt as well. So this sends a signal to many in the Middle East that really Israel is weakened by this. They’re claiming a victory despite all the damages and destruction that they’ve endured. Hamas is still claiming victory and committing themselves to continuing to come after. after the Jewish people and the state of Israel. They still, their agenda remains the same, Jody. They want to destroy Israel. They want to reclaim Jerusalem and they want to kill the Jews. And that’s been part of their charter, part of their raison d’etre. And they pledged to continue that after the ceasefire.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow. Yeah, it really is amazing. I read that the foreign minister of Israel, of Iran, is saying just what you said, that all of this really means that Israel has surrendered to all of this. I don’t know how in the world they come to that conclusion, but assuming, and this is another thing, but assuming that Hamas holds to the agreement, which is not 100% guarantee, isn’t this rolled out in phases? What are those phases that are involved in this?
SPEAKER 06 :
The first phase should be 33 hostages released over 42 days. And then the second phase, which is to be negotiated during phase number one, would be eventually the end of the war. That is what Hamas is hoping for during phases two and three. And that to many Israelis would be really disastrous. You know, Jody, there is one group there in Gaza, in Israel, that is, that are opposed to this agreement. And this group is family members of those IDF soldiers, men and women who have fallen in Gaza. And they believe that their sacrifice, they don’t want it to be in vain. In fact, there’s another group, some of them actually family members of hostages that don’t want them, they don’t want Israel to negotiate with Hamas. In fact, there’s a story that we have heard, Jodi, of a father and son at a Shabbat dinner. And this is before October 7th. And the son said to his father, listen, if I am ever… uh kidnapped i don’t want you to negotiate for my release and so that is sort of a perspective and a point of view that really hasn’t got as much attention as many of the other uh groups that represent many of the hostage families so but overall um a gut-wrenching uh scenario for jews and uh israelis and really a time i think jody to be praying for the comfort of Israel, as it says in Isaiah chapter 40, comfort ye my people, but also praying for extraordinary wisdom for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and also President Trump as he comes in to take over in just a few days.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. Chris Mitchell. Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News, as always, an honor to have you on Washington Watch. Thank you so much. And we indeed will be praying and encouraging others to do the same. God bless you. All right, friends, coming up, we’re going to be talking with the California Assemblyman about the latest on the California fire. So stay tuned. Much more coming your way.
SPEAKER 03 :
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. Launching early this year in January 2025, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us, and we look forward to 2025 and standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Heiss, and so glad to have you joining us today. Well, California’s wildfire crisis continues to devastate the state there with at least 27 deaths now. Thousands of homes and businesses have been reduced to ash and more than 200,000 residents have been forced to evacuate. As firefighters battle the blazes across Los Angeles County, there’s outrage that continues to mount over the state’s preparedness and policy failures. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency, but critics argue that years of mismanagement, underfunded fire prevention efforts, and restrictions on environmental policies have left California vulnerable to these types of catastrophic events. As California grapples with mounting damages with some are saying could exceed $150 billion, voters and lawmakers alike are demanding accountability. They’re demanding immediate reforms. So what needs to change to prevent disasters like this from becoming the new normal for California and for other states who follow these type of woke ideologies? Well, joining me now to discuss the latest is California Assemblyman Bill Saley, who has spoken out about the need for meaningful policy changes there in California. Assemblyman, welcome to Washington Watch. Great to have you. Thanks for having me. All right, well, you’ve called on Governor Newsom to convene a legislative session to overhaul wildfire prevention policies. Tell us a little bit about that. What do you have in mind?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, the reason I called for it is because he convened a special session to quote-unquote Trump-proof the state of California. He wants… to hit the ground running on inauguration day and filed multiple lawsuits, frivolous lawsuits against the Trump administration. So I said, rather than doing that, why don’t we have a special session to fireproof the state of California? Let’s focus on responding and mitigating future wildfires. So under public pressure, he has caved and he has now called a special session on the wildfires. They’re mostly, the Democrats intend to mostly focus on money and diverting millions, if not a billion dollars or more to respond to the current wildfire situation. Republicans will be pushing for policy changes in that special session.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow. So it sounds like from a political perspective, there’s going to be some fireworks as well. So what kind of specific changes, let’s put it that way, would you like to see introduced?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, there’s some changes we need to make in the law. And then a lot of the changes, honestly, has to happen in the governor’s branch. He’s got a lot of control as the executive over the state. But from a legislative perspective, we got to get the regulations out of the way so that way the firefighters can prepare the state for these wildfires. Specifically, we have controlled burns that we need to do across the state in the safe seasons when it’s safe to do so. We need to clear all this brush. And the most efficient way to clear it is frankly to burn it. But because of decades of environmental regulations, we don’t do that anymore. The firefighters have to comply with CEQA, which is our environmental policies here. They have to do environmental impact studies. So we have to clear all this regulatory burden so we can clear the brush that we need to do. We have to let the lumber industry go back into the wild lands and remove the dead trees. We need to upgrade and underground our power infrastructure. A lot of these fires get ignited by failing electrical infrastructure. So there’s several things we can do to clear up the regulatory burdens so we can make the state more fireproof or at least fire resistant.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I recall when I was in Congress, I served, among other places, a natural resources committee. And what you were talking about right now, specifically, we dealt with on the federal level several times, and obviously nothing was ever done about it. So let me ask you this. It’s my understanding. that California’s wildfire prevention budget has drastically been reduced over recent years from some close to a billion dollars to somewhere in the ballpark of 200 million now. Has all this underfunding, do you think, contributed to the current crisis?
SPEAKER 10 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, the state, the size of California to spend $200 million on wildfire prevention is kind of laughable. We’re spending over $5 billion a year just to give illegal immigrants health care in the state of California. We’re going to spend about a billion dollars in the budget on this high speed train to nowhere. So it just shows you where the priorities of the Democrat Party are. They’re not interested in the basics of governing. They’re not interested in public safety, transportation. mitigating disasters. They like to play politics. They like to get involved in really things that the public doesn’t want them involved in. We don’t want the state involved in immigration policy, but that’s what drives these people. They’re very unserious people, and they’re wholly incompetent, as you could see that playing out on the national stage right now with both Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass.
SPEAKER 08 :
We have all seen and heard, there have been many celebrities, it seems many, who have lost their homes during all of this, and of course they’ve been very outspoken. But what seems to be going underneath the radar largely are dozens and dozens of middle-class families, largely families of color that have lost their homes. Is there any effort specifically to help these communities that probably are perhaps more vulnerable?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, they definitely are going to need a lot of help, but I think that’s also upset some people in the state. We’ve had some really devastating fires in the past, just the last couple of years, and it didn’t get the national attention that this fire got. So there is a little bit of that where now because celebrities are involved, it’s become a bigger issue. Regardless, there are real victims of all socioeconomic class. The federal government is ultimately going to have to step in and help them. I fully support that and I fully support getting aid directly to the victims. But when it comes to reimbursing the state for its expenses, I think it’s appropriate to attach some conditions to that because otherwise this is just going to continue the way it is.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, absolutely. And listen, we’ve only got about a minute or so left, but you lawmakers have got a lot to deal with right now. Do you think that you will be able as lawmakers to rebuild the trust and demonstrate really some progress as it relates to wildfire prevention?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, when you say lawmakers, California is a supermajority Democrat state. So the Democrats have the governor’s office. They’ve got the supermajority in the legislature. So Republicans really were not part of the equation here. We’d obviously love to change that at some point. But right now, the Democrats own this. And so we’re just making sure the public understands who’s been in charge and who’s responsible for these policy failures.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you so much, California Assemblyman Bill Issaily. Wow, you’ve got your hands full. We deeply appreciate you taking your time to join us today on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 10 :
Appreciate you covering this.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you. You bet. All right, friends, big question. Did cultural issues impact the presidential election? It’s a big question that many people have been asking. In fact, many people said, stay away from the cultural issues. Well, American Principles Project President Terry Schilling is going to be joining me after the break to discuss that very thing. How critical were cultural issues in the presidential election? So don’t go anywhere. We’ll be back with much more on Washington Watch in just a moment.
SPEAKER 14 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
SPEAKER 13 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I’ve absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 13 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord.
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC’s internship apart from others is they are looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you.
SPEAKER 13 :
I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned. other places and they’re responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that. But here we get real hands-on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of
SPEAKER 04 :
The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it’s never going to be on the ballot. He’s the King of Kings, and He’s the Lord of Lords, and nothing’s going to change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we’re to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
SPEAKER 05 :
America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10-week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, and prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You’ll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls, text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good afternoon. Welcome back to this Friday edition of Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss, and so glad to have you on board with us. All right, as President-elect Donald Trump readies himself to retake the White House on Monday, the American Principles Project released a new poll earlier this week with confirmation about just how instrumental so-called culture war issues really were in Trump’s election victory. So what are the takeaways of it all? Here now to talk about the poll is Terry Schilling, who is president of the American Principles Project. Terry, welcome to Washington Watch. Glad to have you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey, thanks for having me, Congressman. I’m excited to be here.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, we’re excited to have you too. And what an incredible outcome of this poll. So tell us about it. What did the poll find?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, we did a post-election survey after November 5th. We wanted to measure how much of an impact the issue of transgenderism had on the election with voters and how it determined whether or not they would vote for President Trump or Kamala Harris. And what we found is that this was not just a small microcosm of an issue. This was a largely impactful issue. And depending on On the swing state that President Trump won, which he won all of them besides Minnesota, depending on the swing state, it shifted the electorate between 1.7% and 2.6%. To put that in perspective, this election was decided by just 2.2% of the vote in Pennsylvania. These were very tight margins, but this issue… where voters felt like Kamala Harris was much more concerned about cultural issues like transgenderism than people like them and their families. This was the largest issue of the election, and President Trump should get a lot of credit for putting this front and center and having this question be answered by the American people. It’s really what led him to victory.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow, that is amazing. So tell me, going into this poll, I think whenever any of us are involved in a poll, there’s a little bit of, you kind of guess what you think you might find, but you’re not sure. That’s why you put it out there and see. But were you surprised at all by the findings?
SPEAKER 07 :
You know what I was surprised about, Congressman? I was not surprised that we found that this issue was important to voters and that it had an impact on their vote. What I was mostly surprised about is who this issue resonated with. This was not an issue that resonated or stood out as resonating with white voters or Christian voters. They were already on board. This issue resonated with non-white working class voters and a lot of suburban women. These are the key demographics that the Republican Party has been needing to win over for decades, right? Every election we’ve lost is because too many people in those subsets vote for the Democrats. And what we found that the thing that was most surprising to me was that these issues of cultural insanity from the Democrats were enough to bring enough voters from these core demographics that Republicans have been struggling with for decades. It was enough to bring those voters over to vote for Donald Trump, who, by the way, Congressman, we know, from experience that Donald Trump went through hell this past election. He had assassination attempts, but more so when it comes to voters and their opinion of him, he suffered, what, 89% negative coverage from the lamestream media and was up against a candidate that was getting into the low, I’m sorry, the mid to low 80s for approval. I’m sorry, not for approval, but for positive coverage by the lamestream media. This was a totally disparate race in terms of media coverage. And because of this culture war agenda that President Trump decided to make front and center, he’s now president of the United States. These are a very powerful subset of issues, and the Democrats would be wise to start toning down their rhetoric and their policy goals around them.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, so far, they’re not. I mean, they’re doubling down on everything so far. They are so entrenched in this radical left wing movement within the Democratic Party. It’s hard for them to get away from it. But, you know, I think what surprised me with all of this is how often we were told, stay away from cultural issues, stay away from it. People don’t want that. And yet it was just the opposite. And I think this ought to give encouragement for everyone to continue standing for these things, a common sense, standing against the insanity, as you said, because the majority of people agree with us on these things. So let me ask you this. This type of messaging, can this be successfully replicated in another non-Trump election, or is this unique for Trump?
SPEAKER 07 :
I think it can be replicated anywhere. The biggest thing that we need to do, the thing that we need to replicate is we need to replicate candidates making these central to their campaigns, right? You hear all the time in this town, stay away from the culture, just like what you said, stay away from the culture war, it’s a loser. You would never advise a candidate to stay away from an entire section of issues like fiscal issues, right? You would never tell a politician, hey, don’t talk about economic and financial issues because those are losers. No, you would tell them, hey, on economic issues, talk about this. This is very… Helping families afford to have children and helping them afford schooling and all of this. This is very popular. Don’t talk about this aspect of it. But instead, these establishment cronies who are all basically Democrats, they’re all socially moderate people. It’s really socially liberal and leftist. They all want to stay away from it because they don’t understand how politics work. The American electorate is complicated and complex, right? You have a bunch of different votes, 320 million people in this country. We all care about different things. Different things motivate us in terms of our votes. Some voters only vote on whether or not a politician is going to protect the unborn. On the other hand, some people only vote if a politician is going to allow more babies to be killed. This country is diverse. It’s different. We all care about different issues. And the culture war agenda is extremely exceptionally strong because it appeals to voters that we really need in order to win elections. And it’s so powerful of an issue. It brings so many voters to the table for us.
SPEAKER 08 :
Terry Schilling, president of American Principles Project, thank you so much for leading the charge on this. And thank you for coming on Washington Watch to unfold it for us.
SPEAKER 07 :
Anytime. I love coming on. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER 08 :
You bet. All right, friends, don’t go anywhere. On the other side of the break, FRC’s David Claussen will join me for this week’s Biblical Worldview segment. So stay tuned.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But you know, the Bible talks about four institutions of government. You know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn’t be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 09 :
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 SageCons 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 08 :
Good afternoon and welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss. So glad to have you on board with us today. And again, I want to remind you about the inauguration praise and prayer convocation that FRC is co-hosting. It’s going to take place this coming Sunday. January 19th. It will be held live at the Greater New Hope Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. But for those of you who are not going to be able to join us in person, I have some great news. You can join us online through a couple of different options, our Stand Firm app, or you can go to Tony’s YouTube channel. And speaking of the Stand Firm app, if you don’t have it, You can download it wherever you get your apps, or you can simply text the word APP to 67742, and you can get a link to receive the Stand Firm app, which you want to have. And speaking of the inauguration, All right, friends, this has just been an unbelievably busy week of preparation for the incoming administration. There’s been confirmation hearings underway for the president-elect’s cabinet picks. Congress has been moving through various pieces of legislation. And then just before noon today, President-elect Trump announced that the inauguration is now going to be moved indoors as the D.C. could be actually seeing record low temperatures here on Monday. So there literally has not been a dull moment here in Washington. And the bottom line is, Christians, we want to try to analyze and evaluate all the headlines through the lens of Scripture to the best of our ability. And that’s why we like to conclude the week with a Biblical Worldview segment, a conversation about how to look at the headline news through the lens of Scripture. So joining me now for that discussion is David Claussen. He’s the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview here at the Family Research Council. David, as always, great to see you. Welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, great to be with you, Jody. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, I’m going to start by giving you a loaded question, all right? So get ready. All right, here we’re preparing for Monday’s inauguration. But it’s also an appropriate time to look back on the outgoing administration, the Biden administration. So on issues of concern to social conservatives, issues of concern to Christians, what are your reflections on President Biden’s legacy?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that is a big question, Jody. And I think when you think about President Biden’s legacy on a whole host of issues, I think there’s some things we could commend. And maybe I should start there. One thing that does come to mind would be after the October 7th attack, when President Biden went to Israel, first time an American president had stepped foot in Israel when they were under war. That was heroic. That was something to commend, something that made all Americans proud. I wanted to start there, though, Jody, because, frankly, everything else that comes to mind, unfortunately, is historically bad. This is a president who I remember in his inaugural address talked about the importance of unity and his desire to unify the country in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. And on issues that matter to social conservatives, and Jodi, we’ve talked about this, the issues that matter to social conservatives are issues that are related to the created order. These are not marginal tax rates. These are not ethanol tariffs. Things that matter to social conservatives relate to life and death, abortion, the value and dignity of human life, unborn children, things like male and female, the whole LGBT panoply of issues. And on those issues, Joe Biden has been the most aggressive proponent of a pro-abortion agenda and a pro-LGBT agenda and an anti-religious freedom agenda, Jody, that we have ever seen. whether it was the State Department flying rainbow flags at embassies around the world, including at our embassy in the Vatican, whether it was conditioning foreign aid to developing countries, that these countries, as a condition of American aid, had to get on board with pro-abortion, pro-LGBT policies. whether it was using the power of the administrative state to rewrite guidelines that affect the family, whether it was using the bully pulpit of the presidency to promote his abortion agenda. This was a historic administration on issues of social conservative that we care about, Jody, but for all the wrong reasons.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. Wow. You know, I got to be honest with you. I hadn’t thought about being the first president to go to Israel during a time of war, but that certainly is commendable. I heard someone the other day say the only other thing, they did not mention that. So in their words, the only thing that the Biden administration did is unify Republicans and unify conservatives. And I You know, from a Democrat perspective, that’s not good news. But it really is. You know, it’s amazing how God uses all things and works together for good. And even the fact that I think is not too far of a stretch to say Republicans are probably more unified on many, many issues now than they have been in years. Would you agree with that?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I would agree. And again, I think it’s important. You know, I’m here at the Family Research Council. We’re just a couple blocks away from the Justice Department. And just think of how the Justice Department over these last couple of years was weaponized. Everyone knows about the law fair directed against President Trump personally. Now, with some of those cases, but even just think about the way the Justice Department has gone after pro-life activists. FBI agents have shown up at the homes of pro-life dads. We have a friend, Vanessa Savage, where the FBI went after her as she was a whistleblower for that case in Texas, dealing with underage kids illegally receiving so-called gender affirming care. And so, yes, Jody, I think Republicans and conservatives are more united than we’ve ever have been in large part because how overreaching the Biden administration was, you know, let’s be honest in the 2020 election. Democrat primary, Joe Biden was not the most liberal candidate in that field that included people like Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar and others, Bernie Sanders. But when he took office, he took a hard tack to the left. And Jody, it started with his first decision. as the nominee for the Democrats, which was to choose Kamala Harris as his running mate, who was the most liberal senator in the United States Senate. So I do think by overreaching as much as the Biden-Harris administration did, it did serve to unify Republicans and conservatives.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think there’s both a sense of unity and a sense of urgency. I mean, obviously, I don’t want to get too far in the weeds here because I want to move on to some other stuff with you, David, but I think there’s a sense of urgency that people have that now’s the time to turn the ship around on a lot of issues. This is not a time simply of reprieve. This is a time that God has given us a moment to respond to this appropriate. It’s like the mercy of God has been granted to this country for this moment, and we better steward it well. And that applies both in the halls of Congress as well as in the places of churches and Christians all across the country. This is a moment of mercy that all of us need to step up at the plate and not let go to waste.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I agree with that, Jody, and I’m actually encouraged by how Congress – obviously Congress took their seats a couple weeks ago, so they’ve already been quite active. But even earlier today, seeing the United States Senate invoke cloture on the Lake and Riley Act. President Trump ran on the immigration issue. That is an issue that’s tearing apart communities all over this country. And to see, I think it was seven or eight Democrats cross the aisle with Republicans to pass this legislation that will toughen our immigration laws. Praise God to see legislation like that even before President Trump takes office. We know next week that the House and the Senate are going to take a vote on the Born Alive Survivor Protection Act. We need to be praying that legislation like that is approved. But this is a key opportunity we have. And Jody, I’ll add, you know, the first hundred days are going to be busy. And wonder, you know, part of the way our system works, dozens of executive orders that Joe Biden signed can be undone with one stroke. of Donald Trump’s pen, things like reinstating the Mexico City policy, making sure Title 10 funding doesn’t go to abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood providers, rejoining the Geneva Consensus Declaration that says abortion is not a matter of human rights, so many other things. putting back into place safeguards to make sure that those chemical abortion pills are not so easily obtained by women looking to use them. And so I think I would advise Christians to pay attention to what’s happening in Congress and to watch the White House because it is a tremendous opportunity to not just undo some of the bad policies and executive orders of the previous four years, but to actually advance the ball. And the election, Jody, frankly shows that I think a lot of our friends and neighbors are ready to move in a more conservative direction.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. And this is a time, you know, it’s still a country based upon we the people. And, you know, it is the voice of the people that ultimately matters. And we’ve got to embrace that and take responsibility of it. But at the end of the day, we also know that we can’t fix all the problems in this country with just another piece of legislation or just throwing trillions of more dollars at the problem. It is ultimately a spiritual problem, and believers need to step up and pray like we’ve never prayed before and engage like never before. And you talk about a busy hundred days. I read somewhere today that there’s going to be like a hundred executive orders on day one. What a way to start. I mean, that’s starting with a With the speed of a bullet, it’s only probably going to get faster from there. But if I can shift gears with you, David, a little bit, I know that you were recently at a rally outside the Supreme Court for a very important case that we’ve all been watching here at FRC, a case coming out of Texas dealing with pornography. Can you bring us up to date on what’s happening with that law and what’s going on with that case? Why don’t you explain it a little bit for folks who may not be familiar with what we’re talking about?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, really briefly. And FRC has been involved. We had Meg Kilgannon, our colleague, spoke at the rally. I brought our new intern class to the rally to kind of experience a D.C. rally outside the Supreme Court. But oral arguments were heard in a case that originates from Texas. So Texas legislators put a law in place to protect minor children just to simply require age verification for the pornography industry. This shouldn’t be controversial. You know, the pornography industry, Jody, is a multibillion dollar industry. And tragically, studies show that the average age of exposure is around seven years of age. And there’s just no safeguards. And so what Texas has done is to provide age verification to these, you know, pornography sites. So if you want to look at this filth, which no one should, but if you want to, you have to prove that you’re an adult. And no surprise, the pornography industry has sued. And this case has gone all the way up to the Supreme Court. Based on oral arguments, Jody, even some of the more liberal justices, including Elena Kagan, for example, they didn’t seem to buy the arguments that were being put forth by the porn lawyers. And so this is something we’ll get a decision on early summer. But again, it’s pretty simple, just this law that’s requiring the pornography industry to make sure that the people that are accessing this filth are actually adults and that there’s safeguards in place that minor children can’t access this. Because at the rally, Jody, I’ll tell you this. We heard from folks who got – kind of sucked in to looking at pornography unintentionally. They weren’t even looking for it, and they got hooked on it. And that ended up, for some of them, being a gateway to being exploited, to getting plugged into human trafficking. So this is an example of why politics matters. Politics matters, Jody, because policy matters, and policy matters because people matter. And so we can be praying that in the months to come, the court will make a good decision on this case.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, we’ll certainly be keeping a pulse on that. I’m sure you’ll be keeping us up to speed as that comes forward, too. Look, I know that you’re actually going to be attending the inauguration, correct? Yes, sir. All right. Well, some good news. It’s going to be indoors now. You’re not going to be frozen. We won’t come chip you out of an icicle somewhere when it’s all said and done. But what are you hoping to hear from President Trump?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I obviously, like most Americans, would love to hear his vision for the next four years on things like the economy. You know, my wife and I are new homeowners and interest rates are pretty difficult. I’d love to hear his plans for the economy. I’d love to hear his vision for American foreign policy. We live in a dangerous world. I’d obviously love to hear about his plans to further protect the southern border. But as a social conservative, I would love to hear President-elect Trump’s plans to protect life, to protect family, to protect our ability as Christians and people of faith to not only worship the Lord according to our conscience, but to order our lives in accordance with those deeply held beliefs. And so I think Americans and the tens of millions of Christians that voted for President Trump would love to hear, as part of this inaugural address, some of his plans for the American family. And that’ll be something I’m definitely looking forward to hopefully hearing in the inaugural address.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and likewise with the first hundred days, what do you anticipate that may be priority? I know we talked about the border, but from a Christian perspective, some of the issues are important. What do you kind of see as priority there?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. First hundred days, obviously, in Congress, we’d love to see the Lincoln Riley Act approved finally in the Senate and then go when it goes back to the House. We would love to see born alive these babies who survived botched abortions. We would love to see them get the protections that they deserve from the executive order, executive branch, Jody. Reinstate Mexico City, make sure that our embassies are flying the American flag, not the rainbow flag. Make sure that Title 10 funding can’t be used for abortion clinics to make sure all the federal rulemaking process actually understands the difference between a man and a woman. And just seeing the bully pulpit used to promote good and not vice. So I know it will be a busy 100 days, but I am hopeful, Jody, that the right people are in the right places, including many of these wonderful nominees that have been going through their confirmation hearings.
SPEAKER 08 :
David Claussen, director of FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview, always great to end the week with you putting all the headlines in a package for us to look at it from a biblical perspective. Thank you so much. Enjoy the inauguration. Glad you’re not going to be frozen when it’s all over. Thanks for joining us. All right, friends, that wraps up this week and this edition of Washington Watch. Hope you have a fantastic weekend. We’ll be back on Monday.
SPEAKER 01 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
