The Washington Stand’s Casey Harper covers the Senate budget resolution and how Senator Josh Hawley’s Planned Parenthood amendment fits into it, America Reads the Bible, and the decision of the DOJ to reclassify some marijuana products as less
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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In terms of what’s immediately in front of us, legislatively, we’re committed to stopping the extreme Republican budget reconciliation bill from passing the House of Representatives. We believe that Congress should be spending its time making life more affordable for the American people.
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That was House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries earlier today saying the Democrats in the House will vote against the Senate budget. The budget resolution passed earlier this morning, which would fund Homeland Security. Welcome to this Thursday, April 23rd edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Tony Perkins. Thanks for tuning in. Well, coming up early this morning, the Senate advanced a means to restore funding for the Department of Homeland Security through budget reconciliation. The measure now heads to the House. Congresswoman Erin Halchen will join us to walk us through next steps. Plus, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall offers legal analysis on the next steps in the federal indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center. All of that and more straight ahead. Well, as emergency funding for Homeland Security is just about to be exhausted, the Senate has advanced a Republican budget resolution through reconciliation that will fund ICE and the Border Patrol without support of Democrats. Joining us now to discuss this is Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper. All right, Casey, early morning there in the Senate or late night, depending on how you look at it. What’s the latest?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that’s right. An unusual late night, early morning vote. The Senate advanced the resolution. Now, it was a 50 to 48 vote. Now they’re sending it over to the House of Representatives. Now, notably, two Republican senators actually, senators, not centers, opposed the measure, Senator Rand Paul and Senator Lisa Murkowski. Now, they joined Democrats, of course, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. And actually, here’s a clip of him after the vote.
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Tonight, Senate Republicans showed the American people where they stand, not for families struggling with the high costs of childcare, groceries, gasoline, electricity, but for pumping $140 billion towards rogue agencies.
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Now, if the House adopts the budget resolution, which still is a big if right now, then the committees can start divvying up that $70 billion, and it’ll go in separate legislation that President Trump would have to sign. That legislation was designed, though, this measure, to fund through the rest of President Trump’s term into 2029, kind of putting this fight beyond the presidential election.
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Well, we’ll get more on that in just a little bit. America Reads the Bible continues today. It goes through the end of the week. Believers that range from lawmakers to celebrities publicly reading God’s Word aloud all this week. Quite encouraging. It’s historic, Casey.
SPEAKER 09 :
Give us the latest. It is. The Bible readings continue today. A really great event continuing through the week. Today we had Governor Greg Abbott, Senator James Langford, and Congressman Greg Stubbe, among others, reading from the Word of God. And here’s a clip, actually, of the congressman from earlier today.
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Say to them that are of fearful heart, be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
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This event is being held at the Museum of the Bible in downtown Washington, D.C. to celebrate 250 years of America and the Bible. They’re reading 12 hours a day, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern, and they’re going to finish up through this Saturday.
SPEAKER 06 :
I’ll have to talk with Congressman Stubbe there with that beard. He looks like one of the Old Testament prophets. All right. The Department of Justice has changed the classification of certain marijuana products. Casey, walk us through. This is a major shift in drug policy.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, it is especially interesting to see it from the Republican Party. We’ve heard things like this from Democrats. But what we’re seeing in this DOJ is that they are taking procedural steps and a process to move marijuana from a schedule one substance to a schedule three substance. It’s a very really lessening the restrictions pretty significantly. Now, state-regulated marijuana products are being moved from that most restrictive category of Schedule 1, which is things like heroin, to a category that’s lower. Think of things like painkillers and testosterone. Now, U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch has justified this saying it’s about medical research, but I think we’ve heard that one before, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, this comes on the heels of the psychedelic drugs being advanced by executive order over the weekend. As you said, this is things that typically come out of Democratic administrations. This is different. All right, we’re going to talk a little bit more about that later in the program, Casey, so thanks for the update. Thanks. All right. Right now, we want to go back to Capitol Hill and the effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. Joining us now is Congresswoman Erin Houchin, who is a member of the House Budget Committee and the secretary of the House Republican Conference. She represents the 9th Congressional District of Indiana. Congresswoman Houchin, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 17 :
Great to be with you, Tony. Thank you so much.
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So the Senate worked through the night and early this morning passed a, what they’re calling, what’s being called a skinny reconciliation after a voter-rama. That now moves over to the House. So walk us through the next steps.
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Well, I think we’ll see this bill certainly come over from the Senate funding DHS, funding ICE and Border Patrol. It’s really interesting to see the Democrats on this first claiming that we are not making things affordable when if we have a closed southern border and we have ICE enforcement, which is deporting the millions of people that were let into the country illegally under the Biden administration, that will reduce costs. In fact, when you let in 20 million people across the southern border, you’re going to have things that happen, like rental rate increases, child care scarcity. You will have wages that will be driven down and health care costs that will go up. These consequences, make no mistake, are because of the actions of Joe Biden. And Democrats are standing in the way of allowing for full funding of ICE and CBP to do the job to help get the restore order in this country. Republicans aren’t going to stand for that. We’re going to fund it. You’ll see this reconciliation bill come over. And I think you will see support in the House. Now, I had favored a larger reconciliation package, but the Senate sent us a package that we can get behind to get this funding open again. And I think that’s critically important when we are in conflict in Iran. And we know that, under the Biden administration, 12,000 people on the terror watch list were allowed into the interior of the United States.
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The other challenge you have to look at is politically, even if you wanted to expand it. I know last night, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana briefly held up the vote series, frustrated that the bill did not include parts of the Save America Act, which protects elections. And I know the Republicans in the House have passed that, I think, four times. So I know there’s support over there. However, I was just talking to the speaker actually just a little while ago, and he said, I’ve only got the votes to get this skinny reconciliation through, we start putting other things on and we lose it. And the funding is about to run out for Homeland Security, the temporary funding that the president provided. So this is really critical.
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Yes, if you start adding things, there have been requests for not just the Save America Act, but other provisions. E15 has been part of this discussion, as well as provisions in the… The Save America Act, but also the CFPB, the digital currency, not having a central bank digital currency. And this issue, if we add more and more things to this bill, it becomes a problem. It’s kind of like whack-a-mole, Tony. You push one button down and something else pops up. So it’s a really difficult needle to thread. But what I’ll say is, Speaker Johnson has done a phenomenal job in threading this needle again and again to get our work done in the House. I think when we’re hearing talk now about Democrats not just keeping the government shut down now, but potentially shutting down the government in October, right before the election, I certainly think it’s time to consider changing filibuster regulation and rules. The only way we can get past the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, which we don’t have enough Republicans to do that, is through the reconciliation process, which only requires 51 votes in the Senate. We need more things moving across the Senate floor to the president’s desk. And I hope that my partners in the Senate will consider changing or modifying those filibuster rules to get the accomplishments that the American people voted for.
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One other item that I know that many pro-lifers would want to see added to the reconciliation, if in fact things are added to it, would be the defunding of Planned Parenthood, which expires in July. That was on the One Big Beautiful Bill last year for one year. So it becomes very complicated if you start adding things to it. Again, underscoring the need for Homeland Security to be fully funded. I want to switch gears very quickly. We’ve got about three minutes left here, Congresswoman Houchin. Next week, FISA, Section 702, you did a 10-day extension last week. That’s coming up. It’s about to expire. How are those talks coming along to get that advanced?
SPEAKER 17 :
I would say progress is being made with the talks on FISA. There are two sides of this issue. One of the issues is the warrant requirement. And when you have this warrant requirement, what you have to be very careful about is, we already have Fourth Amendment protections for U.S. citizens against unreasonable search and seizure. But the warrant requirement under the current FISA also applies to U.S. persons. And a U.S. person is not just a U.S. citizen. It could be a person who is involved in terror or gang activity who happens to be on U.S. soil, but who’s not a U.S. citizen. This would potentially disrupt even a finding of probable cause, which would make the entire FISA system moot and has protected us from having a 9-11 every day while our CIA and FBI are working to protect us from terrorism. So we’re going to be watching for making sure that we don’t hinder the investigations. And one other thing worth noting is, under the last Democrat administration, when the Trump administration was targeted, those warrants were obtained, but the people who were asking the court to give a warrant lied. So even if we have these protections, it doesn’t say that the Democrats won’t lie to get past the warrant requirement. I don’t want to hinder their ability to do their jobs.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, it’s, I appreciate the tension that’s here and that you have members of Congress working very hard to make sure America is protected, but also that our fundamental freedoms and rights that are articulated in the Constitution are protected as well. And we live in a very complex world. And so working through this Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, making sure that those who have those tools use them rightly and those who do not are held accountable, I think is very, very important. Are you pretty confident that the reforms that were put in place last year are going to assure that those tools are not used inappropriately?
SPEAKER 17 :
We have seen that. We did put into place about 56 different reforms that I think have made tremendous progress on this front, including limiting the number of people who can make searches, having oversight over that, as well as increasing criminal penalties. There are even more reforms being discussed now in these conversations, both with Intel hawks and with our most conservative members of the conference. I absolutely want to protect the civil liberties of the American people, but we will not have civil liberties in this country if we allow for terrorism to grow and thrive on U.S. soil, which is why I’m watching very closely for how this warrant requirement will be crafted. And looking forward to going over the text of this bill, which I will be going over line by line as we get into this very important vote next week.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. Congresswoman Erin Houchin, thanks so much for joining us. Always great to see you.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you, Tony.
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Stick with us. We’re coming back with more.
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I think all people really need to have this type of education.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, I can tell you that it’s been an amazing course, period.
SPEAKER 10 :
I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we’re doing with our families and with our work.
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God and Government is a video-driven, Bible-based training course from Family Research Council that explores the connection between between biblical principles and American government. In this six session video series, FRC President Tony Perkins equips participants with a practical understanding of civil government from a biblical worldview.
SPEAKER 18 :
I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would have took it earlier that I could have taught my kids this.
SPEAKER 13 :
I wish I had known these things when we were homeschooling because I think children and my adults now would just greatly be influenced by that information.
SPEAKER 16 :
So I’m an attorney, and for me, it gives me some direct practical knowledge of what I can do to try to impact my legal community to make better legislation, to try to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.
SPEAKER 01 :
Any pastor would benefit from taking this course. because we are dual citizens, right? We are citizens of the kingdom of God, but we’re also citizens of this great land, and that comes with responsibility.
SPEAKER 10 :
Even as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for a while, you’re learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it’s also approachable enough that newer people, younger people, high school, college students, they can really glean something from this. So I would encourage everybody to take this course, whether it’s the videos, whether it’s doing it in person, bring your Bible study group through it, bring your homeschool group through it and equip yourself for these challenging days ahead.
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View the course at frc.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
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When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.
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A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal
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That they’re endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th birthday, America. May God bless America.
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Welcome back to this Thursday edition of Washington Watch, the website TonyPerkins.com. All right, we’ve been talking about this all week, well, actually since Tuesday evening, when an Alabama federal grand jury indicted the anti-Christian Southern Poverty Law Center, which is headquartered in the state of Alabama. As acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanch put it this way, he said, the SPLC appears to have been manufacturing this extremism it purports to oppose, funneling millions of dollars to pay individuals from the same groups that it asks for donations to destroy, including extremist groups such as the KKK. Joining us now to discuss this is Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. General Marshall, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 11 :
Good to be with you, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
So you’re no stranger to the Southern Poverty Law Center, very familiar with them. They’re just across the street from you. Your reaction to this indictment?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, really long time coming, right? And kudos to the acting attorney general, along with the FBI. Saw leadership from our Middle District of Alabama U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing these indictments to bear. But Tony, this is not new news, right? I mean, we’ve obviously been aware of What’s going on with the Southern Poverty Law Center, FRC, has been a victim of the designation of hate groups that we’ve seen come from this organization. And sadly, we saw woke corporations embrace this designation as a way of kind of genuflecting to the left to somehow or another demonstrate that they were woke themselves. And now SPLC is coming to task as a result of these indictments.
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So I’m glad you pointed that because the focus thus far, and I’ve got the indictment in my hand, I’m sure you’ve looked at and I’m going to ask you about that in a moment. But the focus has been on them propping up, in some cases it appears even creating these entities that they could then go to donors and say, hey, we’ve got to fight this stuff. At the same time, they’re funneling money to it. But it wasn’t just about raising money. It was what you just described. They needed these hate groups, these violent groups, at least to have the perception of them, so that they could then take legitimate conservative and Christian organizations and put them on the same maps, the hate maps, the same list, to marginalize those groups. See, I think, as they continue to dig in this, it’s a broader criminal conspiracy because they were working as an attack dog for the left.
SPEAKER 11 :
And there’s no doubt this was a way of being able to minimize the influence of conservative groups across our country. You create that designation. It causes entities to deplatform conservative groups that have somehow or another been labeled by the SPLC, seemingly with credibility when, Tony, you and I both are aware this is a targeted effort of the left. to be able to go after their conservative opponents and use it as a way of minimizing the ability of those organizations to do good work, whether it’s FRC, whether it’s my friends at ADF or others that likewise are pursuing conservative causes and being successful in pushing back definitely during the Biden administration on what was coming from Washington.
SPEAKER 06 :
So this was a federal grand jury that issued these 11 charges, this indictment. You’re very familiar with grand juries. You’re very familiar with indictments. What do you make of this indictment? I mean, sometimes you’ve got to read between the lines.
SPEAKER 11 :
I think this is a reflection of work that’s been done for a while. Truth be told, Tony, we were involved in it, participated in helping with this investigation that goes back several years. And yet it took the Trump administration to allow the unique resources and laws of the federal government, because it gets lost that this is a corporate criminal indictment. Most states like Alabama don’t have similar provisions, able to use The wire fraud and mail fraud provisions of federal law that many states don’t have is the vehicle to bringing these allegations to light. But, as I know, the director of the FBI and the leadership right now at the Department of Justice, I know they’re not going to sit quiet and allow this to die on the vine, as we saw during the Biden administration, because, as we were bringing these issues to the attention of the Department of Justice, we found silence. With Trump’s administration, we found action.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, General Marshall, as more information comes to light, I mean, it’s one thing to kind of know it, but then when the evidence is there, might this open up the SPLC to the state of Alabama pursuing criminal charges for various activities?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, to the extent that we’re able to identify particular individuals that are violating specific provisions of Alabama law. Obviously, at this point, we’ve not seen it or you would have absolutely seen our office and local prosecutors be able to take action. But we’re excited to be able to continue to partner with our federal friends here in Montgomery and see and determine how far this investigation will take us.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, talk a little bit about the statute of limitations. This goes back quite a ways, but then carries forward the data that was referenced in the indictment goes to 2023. I mean, it’s going to be hard. Just talk about what is the statute of limitations on many of these activities.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, I believe, and Tony, don’t hold me to this completely, but I think it’s a five-year provision. And that’s why that 2023 date is so important, because otherwise, if you look back, particularly these myriad of bank accounts that were created and referenced in that indictment go back many years. In fact, many of them more than 10 years ago. seemingly part of the fraud that’s referenced within the body of the indictment itself. But when you continue to be able to see activity up until 2023 and possibly beyond, that’s going to be the vehicle in which the local prosecutors here and the middle district are going to be able to use to argue that this is not conduct that’s outside of the statute of limitations, but in fact that they can proceed.
SPEAKER 06 :
Just a little over a minute left, General Marshall, in case someone’s feeling a little sorry for the SPLC, before they go create a GoFundMe account for their legal defense, they’re sitting on about $750 million in endowments.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and Tony, right now you can apply for the job opening that was just posted to be the executive director of that organization, making half a million dollars a year.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, well, I don’t know that they’re going to have too many takers on that job.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, I hope they have a disclaimer about potentially the hazards of being able to take it. But the one thing that we’ve seen, which is I guess in some ways refreshing, is to see the SPLC implode from within. You read now stories recently of the internal strife and conflict that’s taken place over the last several years. Look, the SPLC has just been an instrument that’s not for constructive good. but it’s to be able to push back against the things that you and I very much hold dear. And the fact that now we’ve seen Department of Justice be able to act, I think it’s an opportunity to be able to bring even more transparency to what was going on with their activities and expose to the world what many of us have known for quite some time.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, absolutely. And I will say, I hope the building is shuttered when it’s over. General Marshall, always great to see you. Thanks so much for taking time to join us today. Thank you. All right. Coming up next, we’re going to have the former attorney general of the state of Virginia. Ken Cuccinelli joins us to talk about the redistricting battle in Virginia. It goes from the polls to the courts. Don’t go away.
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For I know that my Redeemer lives.
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Job 19, 25. God raised Jesus from the dead because it was impossible for death to take hold on Him. Acts 2, 24.
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Join Family Research Council in standing on the Word. Visit frc.org slash Bible for free resources to help your family follow the way. Jesus, the risen Savior of the world.
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One Nation Under God, America’s undeniable foundation of faith.
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The United States Capitol, an iconic symbol of the American Republic. But few know that this building at the heart of our nation’s government was once something more, the largest church building in America. Since its inception and for decades following, several rooms throughout the Capitol, including the House and Senate chambers, were used to host church services weekly. These services were filled with individuals from all levels of government. The attendance was so pervasive that often it was standing room only. Quote, going to the Capitol on Sundays was then one of the most common things in Washington. Margaret Bayard Smith. This practice was not merely accepted, but encouraged. Quote, I consider it as one of my public duties as a representative of the people to give my attendance every Sunday morning when divine service is performed in the hall. President John Quincy Adams. Housing worship at the center of our Capitol was a living representation of the role that biblical principles played as a cornerstone of our nation’s foundation of faith.
SPEAKER 06 :
This is Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, and we’re glad you are along with us on this Thursday. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, go to the Stand Firm app. Go to the App Store, get the Stand Firm app. That way you’ll have Washington Watch with you no matter where you go. You also have our news and commentary that comes to you from a biblical perspective, the Washington Stand, and my morning devotional, Stand on the Word. All of that and more is on the Stand Firm app. All right, there was a big effort. We’ve been talking about this. You’ve been seeing it. And it’s not isolated to Virginia in its effect. It affects the entire nation. That is, the Democrats’ effort to rig Virginia’s electoral map and turn it a deep blue state. Well, it may have narrowly won the approval of voters on Tuesday, but… The question is now whether their redistricting referendum can pass constitutional muster in court. Already, one circuit court has ruled the referendum unconstitutional, and there are more challenges ahead. Joining us now to discuss this is the former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who currently serves as chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative. Ken, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to be with you, Tony, as always. Okay, so give us the lowdown. What’s the landscape now?
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, so the yes folks jammed through the gerrymandering referendum there Tuesday by about two or three points by outspending our side about three or four to one. But they did it in such an egregious way, they violated the state constitution. At least three, probably four different ways if you count the map. Two of those are already in front of the Virginia Supreme Court. And I should note, these are state constitutional violations, not federal. So this will be decided by the Virginia Supreme Court, not the U.S. Supreme Court. Two of those constitutional violations are already before the court, and they will hear oral argument Monday morning at 9 a.m. on those two issues. You mentioned, Tony, the recent ruling by the court in Tazewell, Virginia, with a third constitutional violation, as well as finding other statutory problems with the referendum, like the incredibly biased wording. of the ballot question, which was just disgusting, really. And the current Attorney General Jones said he’s going to appeal that ruling, no surprise, up to the Virginia Supreme Court. I don’t think the Supreme Court will wait for this case to come up. I think they will continue to hear on a fast track the two issues already in front of them. Because if any of them are found, meaning any of the violations of the Constitution are found, then the referendum is null and void. And that’s the outcome that I expect. And I imagine because they know there’s a need for speed—we have an election this year, of course—that they’ll probably decide by mid-May or so on the first two issues. And given how egregious they are, I’m not sure we’ll get to issues three and four.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, Ken, for the benefit of our viewers and listeners, how are the Supreme Court justices in your state placed in office? Are they elected? Are they appointed?
SPEAKER 21 :
So the General Assembly chooses members of the courts The term of people on the Supreme Court is 12 years, so it’s a long time. There are four Republican selectees on that court right now and three Democrat selectees. I will say that with some exceptions, the Virginia Supreme Court is less political than a lot of other states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Montana. I expect a solid judicial ruling out of this, and I would not be surprised to see a 7-0 ruling that the Democrat General Assembly just trampled the Virginia state constitution here and see this thrown out.
SPEAKER 06 :
So in their haste to get this through in response to other states that were redistricting, they just didn’t pay attention to the constitution or they didn’t care?
SPEAKER 21 :
They didn’t care. They figured they’d get to this point, point to the win and say, oh, we can’t upset the will of the people. But the law of Virginia didn’t allow the Supreme Court to address the referendum before the vote. The vote is part of the legislative process. In a referendum, it’s analogous to a governor signing a bill. And you would never challenge a piece of legislation before a governor signed a bill, and you wouldn’t do the same for the referendum. But now that has happened. The legislative process is over, and those challenges are running at full speed.
SPEAKER 06 :
So what happens if it’s ruled unconstitutional? Do you think that they try to address this again next year, or is this issue done?
SPEAKER 21 :
No, I think it’s done. This is a Trump derangement syndrome occurrence. And they ran their whole ad campaign on Orange Man Bad themed ads all throughout. That’s what this is about. And you and I both served in state legislatures. I imagine Louisiana is much like Virginia. You have to pass these amendments twice on both sides of an election. And that means they need another election. The next election of the House of Delegates isn’t until 2027, so they couldn’t pass it again until 2028. And that’s if they hold both the House and the Senate. So this is a long way off. And of course, then they’ll be looking at Trump leaving office. That’ll be the end of his term. So I’m not sure the same verve will be there. And remember, here in Virginia, We passed into place and put in our constitution just five years ago, a bipartisan redistricting commission. I helped achieve that, something I worked on for 15 years. And we have one of the fairest maps in the country today. for our congressional delegation. And that is universally acknowledged, and that was thrown in the trash can by this liberal Democrat General Assembly that didn’t care about the Constitution or Virginia historical norms. All they cared about was pleasing their Washington pals, and I think that’s gonna come back to bite them in the Supreme Court of Virginia.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and maybe even the next elections, because if you look at the voting results, the those outside of the D.C. area, most of Virginia voted against this proposal. Ken, we got to leave it there. We’re out of time. Always great to see you. Talk to you real soon. Good to be with you, Tony. All right. Ken Cuccinelli, former attorney general of the state of Virginia. All right. Coming up next, our Washington stand panel. Don’t go away. Exodus 9, verse 1 says, Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. You see, America has freedom for a purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today? In Scripture, deliverance and freedom is never an end in itself. It is a liberation unto obedience, to worship, and to a covenantal relationship. God’s demand to Pharaoh was not freedom for freedom’s sake, but freedom so his people could identify with and belong to and serve him. Freedom that is not used to serve God will not endure. One of the founders actually echoed a similar warning. Thomas Jefferson wrote, Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever.” See, the founders understood we as a nation would be accountable to God for what he had granted to us. They sought freedom for a purpose. And that freedom was given to us as a nation for that same purpose, to serve God, to honor Him, and to live as a people under His authority. In this 250th anniversary year, we must ask the question, are we living by that purpose today as a nation? Lord, we thank you for the godly foundation and heritage of our states. Lord, we would return to an understanding of the freedom that you have granted to us, that freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. And I pray that our nation would return to that understanding of the purpose of the freedom that you have granted to us. We thank you, Father. By faith, we pray that we would return to that purpose. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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SPEAKER 06 :
I’m Tony Perkins, and you are tuned in to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us on this Thursday. All right, our word for today comes from Joshua, chapter 21. Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came near Eleazar the priest to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. And they spoke to them in Shiloh, the land of Canaan, saying, The Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in with their common lands for our livestock. You see, God had promised cities to the Levites, not like the other tribes where they had an allotment of land, but cities among the tribes. But notice they had to ask for the fulfillment of the promise. Another example of faith without works being dead. This is what James writes about in the New Testament where he says, You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight in war, yet you do not have because… you do not ask. The Levites were asking according to the Word of the Lord. If the Lord said it, He’ll do it. And if we ask and pursue it according to His Word, we’ll have it. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. That’s BIBLE to 67742. Right, earlier today, at the top of the program, we were talking about this. The Department of Justice announced that it was reclassifying marijuana and state-licensed marijuana from the highest regulated drug classification of Schedule I, which basically says no medicinal value, to the less regulated Schedule III. It is also ordering a new expedited hearing to fully reschedule marijuana. Joining us now to weigh in on this and other headlines of the week is our FRC team. Casey Harper, Managing Editor for the Broadcast at the Washington Stand, and J.P. Duffy, Vice President for Communications here at FRC. J.P., welcome. Great to be here. And Casey, welcome back. Thanks. All right. Casey, I’m going to start with you. Tell us more about today’s announcement. I mean, Cheech and Chong would have been very happy.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, there’s college freshmen around the country rejoicing, I think. This was kind of a surprising, to many people out of nowhere, policy change. Now, on the one hand, they’re saying, well, this is just about research. It’s about medicinal use. But then, you know, we’re changing the classification from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. But then they also say this is part of a broader change in policy, and it comes on the heels of the psychedelic announcement. So it seems like we have a new drug policy seemingly in the Republican Party right now. Yeah, JP?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I mean, I think the path that this is putting us on is troubling. And we don’t have to wonder what’s at the end of this path. I mean, we can look at the experiment over the last 12 years in Colorado where there has been a near doubling in suicides among adolescents. Right, right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Psychosis ending up in paranoia, emergency room visits, spiking. So, yeah.
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, it’s a concern. A study out just last month found that, as you mentioned, marijuana use at a young age will double the chances of schizophrenia, whether it be bipolar, depression, anxiety, all of these things. And then also very alarming, out of the road deaths in Colorado, about a quarter of those involve marijuana in some way. And this isn’t just Colorado. Another study out of Ohio found something very similar where Ohio has recreational marijuana as well. And just one major county there, Montgomery County in Ohio, an examination of records of drivers who were killed in fatal car accidents found that nearly 42% of them tested positive for THC. So it’s very, very alarming.
SPEAKER 06 :
Colorado has some similar results on traffic accidents, but even states like Massachusetts saying that they legalized this thinking it was going to diminish the illegal sales, the black market, and actually fuels that. It was interesting, the head of the Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Kevin Sabat, I’m not sure how to pronounce his last name, but he said, quote, with this move, we are now confronted with the most pro-drug administration in our history. Casey?
SPEAKER 09 :
Is he talking about the abortion pill? No, no, he’s obviously talking about marijuana, but there’s a point to be made there. And the psychedelics. Well, I think that we’re seeing sort of the bearing of fruit of something of a different type of the right has finally gotten more power in the party somehow. And the president, I think, is not particularly ideological on many issues, and he follows the wind sometimes, and whoever gets in his ear. I mean, I think it was very telling that Joe Rogan was standing behind him at the psychedelic If you’re any, I don’t think you’re a big, listening to every three hour Joe Rogan episode, you’re probably a little too busy. But he’s a big advocate for this. And many people credit Joe Rogan with helping propel the president.
SPEAKER 06 :
So you bring up a very good point, Casey. And this is a part of our concern going all the way back to the Republican Party platform committee where we basically saw the party ditch the platform. But this is something I’ve been warning about for many years, talking about it. But as you said, it’s kind of come to full fruition. That is, conservatism and Christianity are not the same. And so we have this libertarianism that has infiltrated the conservative movement, so to speak. And so there comes a place where, ultimately, what we decide in terms of policy has to be aligned with biblical truth. And we talk about the nature of drugs. And the Bible speaks to this issue. And it is opening up our children and, of course, others to demonic activity, destructive behavior. And, you know, it’s one thing people choose to do it. God gives us a choice. But when government puts a seal of approval on it, you know,
SPEAKER 09 :
It only expands it. Yeah, and I mean, the verse that’s really telling here is Galatians 5, verse 20, when it’s listing off some sins that keep you out of the Holy Spirit, things like sexual immorality, and right in there is the word sorcery. When we hear sorcery, we think Harry Potter, magic wands or something, but it’s the The word pharmakia, exactly. Which is drugs. Which is where we get the word pharmacy. And it’s not to say that all medicine is bad. That’s not what we’re saying. But it was understood in the ancient world that sorcery was not magic wands. It was using substances to create spiritual altered perception experiences, which is exactly what marijuana is.
SPEAKER 06 :
And the testimonies of those who have used the drugs, whether it’s… I mean, when we look at the, you know, people think of LSD. But, I mean, you’ve got most of these come from natural sources like mushrooms. Even the one that the president is looking into, the Biogain. Yeah, Ibogaine. Yeah, Ibogaine. It’s, you know, from some kind of plant somewhere. Right. We’ve heard secondhand, just to be clear. But the reality is this stuff is not new. It’s been around. Our government’s even used it before. I mean, there’s one of those top secret programs, MKUltra, that was exposed. I know it’s kind of connected to some of those conspiracy theorists, but it’s reality. And the government used it, and it had very negative consequences. Anyway, this is where I think we have to have policy anchored in biblical truth. And, you know, it is shocking. You expect some of this from Democratic administrations, but coming from Republican, it’s a bit different.
SPEAKER 19 :
Right. And the libertarian argument really falls apart when you really look at how this plays out in real life. I mean, do you really want your child’s bus driver high on marijuana? Do you want the driver next to you? Do you want, you know, construction workers? I mean, you could kind of take this to any and every profession in society. It just the libertarian argument doesn’t hold up.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that actually brings up a whole other point because there’s so many professions that require drug testing. You know, to get a CDL license, a commercial driver’s license, which driving a bus requires, you have to be drug tested. And so now we’re setting up these conflicts, and this is where you have these, when you begin to deviate from truth to accommodate particular desires, this is where you have problems.
SPEAKER 09 :
And you see this pattern of sort of lessening restrictions a little bit on a drug with sort of some kind of justification, and then that leading to mass adoption. So the opioid crisis, that started as overprescribing, and through the legal channels doing it quote-unquote right way, and now we have an opioid epidemic. Yeah, and we’re blowing up boats out in the… We are. No psychedelics on those boats.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, well, that’s one way that you can have a boat. If you have marijuana and mushrooms in it, they probably won’t blow you up. All right, let’s talk Southern Poverty Law Center. Earlier in the program, I had General Marshall from Alabama, whose office is just across the street from Southern Poverty Law Center. This indictment that was handed down apparently is just the beginning.
SPEAKER 09 :
We may see more. Yeah, I mean, these grand jury indictments, you know, I’m not a lawyer to be clear, but they’re kind of a low bar. And they just open up the beginning of more investigation, more gathering, possibly more charges. There’s not even names on this indictment yet. And one thing that stood out to me, though, about the indictment was this phrase, asset forfeiture. It’s in the indictment many times. And for those, I mean, you’re a police officer, so you know what that means. Most people don’t know. Asset forfeiture means that the law enforcement can take your stuff even before you’re found guilty, especially if there’s some sense of a conspiracy involved. This is a kind of law that’s used to crack down on drug rings and money laundering is exactly the kind of thing that they crack down on. So if If the DOJ can prove that several accounts, several buildings, several employees at the SPLC were involved in some kind of money laundering, or even if they have a probable cause of suspicion, they can shut down entire bank accounts. They can temporarily seize assets. And that could happen well before we get conviction. So I think that’s something to be aware of.
SPEAKER 06 :
Anything that could have been derived from their illegal activity is subject to forfeiture. Yeah. and all of their donations were raised with the promise of shutting down these very organizations that they were propping up.
SPEAKER 09 :
And it’s a lower legal standard, too. You don’t have to be found guilty for them to do that. They take the things, and then you have the whole proceeding, and then if you’re found not guilty, you have to work to get it back.
SPEAKER 06 :
J.P., I mean, this is actually not surprising to us. We’ve seen how SPLC operates. I mean, we’ve communicated with them even back after they put us on their hate map, resulting in a shooting here just to take us down. But now we—and I was talking with General Marshall about this earlier— I think people shouldn’t stop with the fraudulent behavior of raising up these organizations or propping up these organizations to say that there’s these hate groups out there that we have to go after. That was just a part of the conspiracy. The real conspiracy was to try to smear conservative and Christian organizations by putting them into the same category as these made-up organizations that they funded.
SPEAKER 19 :
Right. Well, Tony, I think it’s important to worth looking at the timeline of this indictment that they looked at. It was in the decade following the shooting here at Family Research Council’s headquarters. They were tied, as you’ve laid out earlier, they inspired the gunman that came in this building and who shot our building manager, Leo Johnson. He heroically took the gunman down. He saved many lives, potentially my own. And the SPLC knew all that, and yet Even though they saw their tie to that violence, and of course we’ve seen the tie to potentially the Steve Scalise and others.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that was by the testimony of the gunman. Right. So that’s not speculation. The gunman testified to that.
SPEAKER 19 :
He testified to that. It’s on camera with the FBI. But it’s worth noting that following that, they then proceeded to send $3 million to violent groups across the country. Groups that… shouldn’t even have a bank account or likely don’t. They don’t have to file anything with the IRS. So I think it’s worth asking the question, was the Southern Poverty Law Center the largest donor for some of these groups like the neo-Nazis? Apparently one leader of the neo-Nazis received over a million dollars. What other funding sources would the Nazis here in America be receiving?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and remember also that there were a lot of questions raised about their hate map and all of these white supremacist groups that were nothing more than a post office box. Now we wonder, given their deceptive tactics, they were probably paying for all those post office boxes.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yes, I think that’s exactly right. And just as you’ve said, we’ve really seen what their purpose is in bankrolling these groups. It was then to set the stage. They started with Family Research Council. Then they began to add American Family Association and then on and on with other groups. But as they were funding these other organizations, they were then further fundraising off of that in order to then smear organizations like FRC and others in order to marginalize and silence and intimidate. That has been their goal. all along, their whole purpose for being.
SPEAKER 06 :
But I don’t think they acted alone. I think there’s a broader criminal conspiracy. I’ve always said this, that they were the attack dog for the left. I mean, they pivoted on their storied history as a civil rights organization and used that credibility by the left to go after organizations that were effective in stopping the left’s redefinition of marriage and human sexuality. And so I don’t think they acted in a vacuum. I think that they’re you know, they keep digging. I think they’re going to find that there are other organizations on the left, media included, because once that label of hate group was assigned, you saw banks debanking people. You saw media entities stopping to book those organizations like they did to to us. and put him on the spot saying, when are you going to take Family Research Council off because they’re a hate group?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yes, it was all about intimidation and censorship. And they didn’t stop there. I mean, they embedded themselves in government. I mean, we know because the documents came out that SPLC materials were being used in trainings at the Department of Defense, at DHS. We know local law enforcement agencies were sending around bulletins with SPLC information. So they were very targeted in hitting individuals. the both the media corporations and the government and all of those entities if they haven’t cut off the SPLC they have to do so now.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah and I actually think I’m you know I hope that there’s also a retribution from a standpoint of the financial restitution I should say that they have to make to all of the entities that they have damaged with their lives and criminal activity.
SPEAKER 19 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, guys, thanks so much for joining us here for today’s panel.
SPEAKER 19 :
Thanks, Tony. Thank you, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, and Washington Watch will be back tomorrow with Jody Heiss in the chair. All right, folks, thank you for joining us. A lot to cover today, a lot to pray about. Keep praying and vote when you have the opportunity, and then keep standing. Pray, vote, stand. See you next time.
SPEAKER 07 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family, and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That’s GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit TonyPerkins.com.
